A Stone is Thrown
by FreeWrite
Summary: Her life was defined at 15 by that moment in the clinic Matthew found. The curve of the plastic chairs, the acidic smell of antiseptic, the cold of the air, Matthew's clammy hand gripping her own, the panicking thud of her heart. A step forward... two stumbling steps backwards and then running… out of the clinic… out of Rome… out of Italy… to a chateau in the French Alps.
1. Chapter 1

Title: A Stone is Thrown

Author: FreeWrite

Summary: Her life was defined at 15 by that moment in the clinic Matthew found. The curve of the plastic chairs, the acidic smell of antiseptic, the cold of the air, Matthew's clammy hand gripping her own, the panicking thud of her heart. A step forward... two stumbling steps backwards and then running… out of the clinic… out of Rome… out of Italy… to a chateau in the French Alps.

Disclaimer: I don't own any recognisable characters from Criminal Minds, I'm having a play and will return without making any money off them.

AN: So here is the story I teased in the epilogue of 'An Unexpected Life' it is a what if Emily didn't terminate the pregnancy at 15 scenario that I wanted to see if I could make work. Part of it is I've seen a lot of fics that demonise Emily's parents based on what little we see in "Honor amongst thieves" and comments made by Emily in season 2's 'Sex, Birth and Death', 4's 'Demonology' and 7 when JJ tells Emily Elizabeth didn't come to the funeral. Here's what we know from season's 2-7 cannon. Emily hates politics, Elizabeth believed in Emily enough to go to her for help in 'Honour amongst thieves', her grandfather lived in the French Alps when Emily was an unspecified age, at 15 Emily didn't believe she could go to her mother for help and finally Elizabeth didn't attend the funeral in 'Lauren'. It's not a whole lot to work with and I'm happy to debate the merits of where I've chosen to take this with anyone. To be honest I would have finished this two or three months ago but I got distracted by 'The Bird that flies' and 'A Most Dangerous tribe'.

The title comes from a scene in Xena: Warrior Princess Season 1 episode 03. Xena throws a stone in a lake and explains even though the churning on the surface eventually stops the lake is forever changed by the stone sitting at the bottom.

This story is complete. There are 11 chapters and an epilogue.

* * *

Chapter 1

Emily refused to let her parents throw her a sweet 16 birthday party... she didn't tell them that no one would come… after Fiona left in December the only friends she had were Matthew and Jon... No one else wanted her here in Rome….

Her attempts at fitting in and being accepted didn't work.

In fact it was blowing up in her face rather spectacularly.

She thinks she's about 4ish months along and her slim frame is showing evidence of the pregnancy, it won't be long before she can no longer hide it with loose fitting clothes.

With her parents leaving for the states in two day's she has a chance to get out. She hates Rome and hopefully she will never have to return.

The morning after her parents board a plane to DC Emily leave a letter on the desk in her Mother's private study picks up the backpack she always carries to school and walks out of the Embassy, Matthew was meeting her at the train station with a bigger bag that contained the clothes they had been hiding for the last 6 weeks as well as the money they'd converted into Franc's.

Matthew held her tightly as the announcement came for boarding the train to Turin and whispered in her ear.

"I can still come with you." he hated Rome as much as she did.

"No..." Emily felt the tears well up "I'll be fine... they'll work out where I've gone eventually. Just tell them... I've gone home."

She'd lived in so many places... but there was only one that felt like home. One place where she knew for certain she would be safe and accepted.

The 12 hour train journey to Turin is spent battling the nausea that has been her constant companion for months now.

From Turin she uses the local bus services to make her way to Claviere. When she hit the border town it had been three day's since she left Rome. The Embassy staff would have contacted her parents by now but the letter wouldn't have been found. All year she'd disappear for a day or two, originally it had been to go to parties and then she and Matthew simply wandered the city getting lost in time... escaping from being embassy kids.

While she, Matthew and Jon weren't quite considered uncontrollable yet, the staff had given up on trying to keep tabs on them. The three of them were too good at slipping away from any watchers. They always returned and the staff would only have started to worry when she didn't come back on the second day.

She finally stops for a rest in Claviere and spends two nights in the cheapest boarding house she could find.

Emily sleeps the first day away and before the sun rises on the third she checks out and slips out of town. The borders between Italy and France are easy to cross over once you were in the mountains. All you needed to do was follow the ski trails south on the Italian side and then follow the French trails north into Montgenevre and neither the French nor Italian authorities worried too much about who crossed where and when.

It takes her longer than expected to do the hike and she ends up spending the night in a cabin at the top of the trails.

Giving up on the busses Emily hitchhikes from Montgenevre to Briancon and then finally Les Viollins.

She spends more than one night outside.

She is almost to Les Viollins watching light flurries of snow fall through a van window when a news item comes over the radio.

"In news from Rome, Emily Prentiss, the 16 year old daughter of American ambassadorial Minister Elizabeth Prentiss is still missing. The Minister was on her way to Washington when her daughter left for school 10 days ago and hasn't been seen since. While authorities do not suspect foul play they are asking for anyone who has either seen or had contact with Emily to contact the American Embassy in Rome."

She doesn't let the tears fall as the young couple discuss what could have driven a 16 year old to run away from what they thought would be a glamorous and privileged life.

Emily doesn't tell them it can be Hell.

When they drop her outside the Inn at Les Viollins Emily knows she will be recognised. Monsieur and Madame le Bijou are good friends with her Grandparents, they would know she was missing by now, she hopes the elderly innkeepers will let her stay the night and head up to Dormillouse in the morning without contacting her parents.

Exhausted, aching and hungry she pushes the door open and steps into the warmth. The room is everything she remembers from her last stay the summer she was 14. Wooden panels dancing with the crackle and spit of the fires, the aroma of burning wood, heavy stews and mulled wines permeating everything.

Emily closes her eyes and breathes deeply. She is almost home.

"Emily?" her eyes shoot open at the feminine voice calling out her name in shock.

Behind the bar Valerie le Bijou can't believe her eyes when she sees just who has entered her inn. The news of Emily's disappearance had broken over a week before and they had since listened to every report hoping she had been found never expecting her to make it this far on her own. Emily's parents had called le Bijou to get word up to Andre and Fleur who had immediately come down off their mountain, the worried grandparents are at that moment sitting in her back room waiting for news.

Valerie watches as the teens bottom lip starts to tremble and exhausted tears spilled over her face. It was then Valerie noticed the shivering and Emily's normally pale skin was a chalky white which only makes the dark circles stand out even more.

"Is... is it ok if I stay tonight and head up the mountain tomorrow?" Emily's voice is trembling from the cold as she asks with the last bit of courage she has left.

Valerie quickly makes her way to where Emily is still standing just inside the door, so small, frail and lost. She looks the girl up and down trying to convince herself she was real before pulling her into a tight hug. Emily's body slumps into the contact as her bag drops to the floor and she clings to Valerie with everything she has left. Without warning a sob bubbles up through her chest, then another and another. Valerie just lets her cry...

A noise behind them causes Valerie to look over her shoulder and see her husband coming through the door from the kitchen. Immediate recognition dawns and he goes to the room Andre and Fleur were staying in to let them know their Granddaughter is here and safe.

Andre makes it out to them first and isn't sure that Emily even notices when Valerie hands the teen over to him.

Rubbing her back he doesn't speak or try to stop the crying. He knows whatever had driven Emily to make the 500 mile trek from Rome had to be bad. When the sobs start to slow down he guides her back to their room, Fleur on her other side with her bag.

"Let's get you to bed" he presses a kiss to her temple and whispers to her knowing Emily is in no condition to tell them her story right then. Her eyes are heavy and her body pressing more and more into his as the exhaustion that has been dogging her for weeks finally wins and her legs start to refuse to keep her upright.

Andre guides her over to the bed and steps aside as Fleur pushes the heavy jacket off her shoulders and gasps when she sees the soft swell of Emily's belly understanding immediately that this was why Emily had run.

Emily turns her head away, unable to look her grandmother in the eye "I didn't know what else to do..." she whispers as the tears started anew.

"Oh Emily…" Fleur places a hand on Emily's waist, thumb gently rubbing where it swelled out and the other cupping her cheek turning Emily's gaze back to hers "let's get you changed and into bed."

Despite it only being 6 in the evening she knows her Granddaughter needs food and sleep before anything else is said or done.

When he opens the door he isn't surprised to see Valerie standing with a tray of food... the woman firmly believes her stew can fix everything. Andre will never tell her it makes him a little gassy.

In Max le Bijou's office he sighed heavily and picked up the phone.

Dialling their private line in the embassy he waited for the call to connect. After several rings Jules Prentiss' worried voice came over the line.

"Emily?"

"No, it's your father but Emily's alive and safe… she walked into le Bijou not 30 minutes ago."

There is a muffled noise on the other end of the line as Jules turned from the mouth piece and called out to Elizabeth.

"It's my father... Emily's there."

More noises float through as Elizabeth and Jules grapple with the phone so they could both listen and speak.

"She's ok...?" frantic was not a word Andre had ever associated with his daughter in law until that moment.

"She is tired, cold and hungry but alive and well, Fleur and Valerie are feeding her and putting her to bed. Once she has slept we will speak with her and find out what happened... why she ran away."

He wouldn't tell them anything more without speaking to Emily. Obviously something had changed since she was last here just over a year before, the sweet somewhat innocent 14 year old that visited while her parents moved them from Athens to Rome is gone and in her place a broken 16 year old had appeared.

At the time Emily had complained about the move to Rome. They'd been in Greece for a little under two years and she didn't want to leave her friends. He could hazard a guess that while the move to Rome had been good for Elizabeth's career it hadn't been a positive experience for her daughter.

"She's been so unhappy here..." Elizabeth unknowingly confirmed Andre's suspicions "I know she hasn't made many friends. She's been going to parties, skipping school, disappearing overnight... I tried to talk to her a few times but someone would interrupt and then she'd be gone…"

"I understand" Andre sighed "We will talk to Emily in the morning and find out what happened and I will call you then."

"Don't bother calling we'll leave tonight. If we drive straight through we can be there before lunch." Elizabeth was already heading over to grab her suitcase.

"I know you are worried but can I recommend you don't leave until morning. I would imagine you have not been sleeping well... Rest tonight knowing Emily is safe. We will wait at le Bijou for you to arrive."

They begrudgingly agree to sleep for a few hours before leaving... Andre wondered what the reaction would be if he suggested Emily stay with them instead of returning to Rome with her parents.

When he returns to the bedroom he finds his wife sitting up in the bed with Emily's head in her lap, the teen sound asleep.

"Are they on their way already?" Fleur whispers.

"No, I convinced them to wait until morning, so they won't be here until tomorrow afternoon. That will give time for Emily to sleep and tell us what happened… and for us to decide what we want to do."

Fleur ran her fingers gently through Emily's hair.

"I don't know what has happened to her but our 16 year old granddaughter has run to us for help… we need to decide what we are willing to do before her parents arrive?"

Andre stared down at Emily and all he could see was the tiny girl he taught to swim in the Torrent du Lait.

* * *

When Emily woke the next morning she was alone in the bed and the sun was streaming through the window... for the first time in a long time she felt warm and safe.

Even in the hottest days of summer she'd never felt that in Rome.

Someone had ensured the fire was crackling away merrily and the room was warm and cozy.

Rolling onto her back she ran a hand down to her belly letting it sit just below her belly button where her baby rested.

In the eleven days since leaving Rome it seemed to have had a bit of a growth spurt and popped out a little more. She wondered what it would look like in another month…

Her full bladder suddenly made itself known and as she rolled out of bed Emily actually felt rested for the first time since working out she was pregnant.

Pulling on the thick wool socks she had kicked off during the night Emily shuffled down the hall to the shared bathroom. After flushing and washing her hands she took a moment to stare at herself in the mirror. Her hair was grimy and limp, complexion ashy, there were still dark circles under her eyes and it looked like she had lost some weight.

She really just wanted to shower...

Emily didn't know how long she stared at herself in the mirror... a gentle knock on the door broke her out of her reverie.

"Yeah..." her voice was still husky from sleep.

"Emmy...?"

"Maman" she opened the door and nearly burst into tears again when she saw her grandmother standing there holding a towel, thick robe, clean sweats, shampoo, conditioner and soap.

"Shower darling and then come to the kitchen for breakfast... well it will be nearly lunch by the time you're done" Fleur smiled at the confused look Emily gave her.

"It's 10:30 in the morning."

"Oh..." Emily blinked... she'd slept for 15 hours, no wonder she'd had to pee so badly. "I'll be out soon."

Taking the supplies from her Grandmother, Emily started the hot water, stripped down and stepped into the stream.

As she washed she noticed her boobs seemed to have gotten bigger along with the belly that she'd been trying not to look at while naked.

The further away from Rome she'd travelled the less scary this all was. Maybe it was the city itself, she'd loved Athens and Jordan before that, maybe it was that she had friends there... in Rome there was only Matthew and sometimes Jon and as much fun as she had with them she was used to a big group girls to spend time with. At school in Rome she'd only found snotty bitches who'd decided the Prentiss family was neither rich nor powerful enough to make befriending Emily worth their time. So Emily had gone to all the parties and joined in with whatever was going on hoping to find some girlfriends. She adored Matthew but it wasn't the same as having another girl to talk about girl things with.

She'd lost her virginity at a party that February... if she tried really hard she could sort of remember it.

Some of the parties they'd gone to had been pretty tame... others had been downright wild... most of them didn't just have alcohol but there had been pot, ecstasy, cocaine, heroin and sometimes a pharm jar all available for the right price. She stayed away from the heroin but occasionally did a few lines and had eagerly put down quite a few drinks and popped ecstasy.

There was one night in June where the ecstasy had been particularly potent... she hadn't said no to anyone that night... Emily is pretty sure that's the night she got pregnant... it's also the night she got labeled a slut.

'La Bici Americana' ( _The American Bike_ )

How could she explain that in her quest for acceptance and friendship she let herself be used... that she had no idea who the father was.

After rinsing one last time she stepped out of the shower and quickly dried off pulling the clean sweats and long sleeve shirt on. She rubbed her hair with a towel to get rid of the excess water before and pulled it back into a neat French braid.

Going back to the room she hung up the wet towel by the fire, pulled her giant hoodie on and wandered down into the kitchen where she found Valerie and her Maman chatting over coffee. She stood just inside the door, suddenly nervous about the conversation she knew was coming. Valerie saw her hovering uncertainly and summoned the biggest smile she had while beckoning Emily in to join them.

They didn't make her talk while she ate, both the older women worried about how thin she was.

Once her plate was clean and a mug of tea placed in front of her Emily looked up at her grandmother. Fleur reached up and cupped Emily's cheek.

"Tell me..."

Everything came out... how much she missed her friends in Athens, how the local kids treated Matthew, Jon and herself for being embassy kids.

"I just wanted friends..."

Emily told her about smoking pot with Matthew and Jon while their parents schmoozed politicians at the Christmas party. The first party Matthew had taken her to the previous January she didn't get drunk at that one but she did at the next, the party in February, when she allowed one boy to talk her into trying cocaine. The night in March when she took ecstasy for the first time, the weekend she thought the baby was conceived. The name they all called her now... realising she was pregnant, Father Gamino's damnation for both having sex outside of marriage and considering an abortion, Matthew taking her to the Doctor he found.

Freezing in terror when they called her name and refusing to go through with the abortion.

Being too scared to go to her parents... wanting to be anywhere but Rome and knowing the chateau was the only place she had to call home. How she and Matthew had come up with the plan to get her here.

Fleur let her speak never looking away from her distraught granddaughter.

"And what will you do now?" Fleur asked quietly

"I..." Emily hesitated, unsure of how to voice the next part.

"You will need to see the pregnancy through... no more drinking, no more drugs."

Emily nodded in agreement.

"We can find a couple who will take the child when it comes. They will raise it and love it for you..."

Fleur saw the horror cross Emily's face.

"No..."

"Can you do it? Finish school with a baby... go to college with a two year old? Put any relationship second to your child?" Fleur and Andre had been up late into the night discussing how they would handle this and had eventually decided sometime after midnight that as long as Emily understood and accepted what would be required of her they would support whatever decision she made.

They're fairly certain Emily hasn't yet worked out that her Uncle had been born when Fleur was 17... Only 5 months after they married.

Emily's chin dropped to her chest and her bottom lip was pulled firmly between her teeth as she considered what her Grandmother was asking. It was nothing she hadn't thought about in the ten day's since leaving Rome.

"Maman…" her voice was nearly a whisper "I've done nothing but think about that... it's why I came here. I can give this baby love, and I can give it you and Papa, and I can give it me, and I can give it a promise to always try my hardest to give it everything it needs. I can't give it a Father and I can't promise I'll be any good but... I made my choices and I have to live with where they're taking me. I can finish school with a baby and I can go to college with a two year old. It might take me an extra year or two but I promise I will go to college and I will graduate."

"Then that's what you'll do" Andre had been standing in the kitchen door all through her story.

Now they just needed to convince Emily's parents.

* * *

Emily spent most of the day in the kitchen with Valerie and Fleur, the older women setting her up at the table with vegetables that needed to be peeled and chopped for that night's meal. Making sure there was always something for her to nibble on and an endless supply of tea.

Throughout the day Fleur had peppered Emily with questions about what she was planning to do.

Was she going to try and complete sophomore year while pregnant, do a half load of courses or simply wait until after the baby came.

Did she want to stay in France with them?

Could she discipline herself enough for distance education?

Did she want to go to college in the US or France?

What would she do if her parents refused to help her out financially?

Some questions she had answers to, she was going to try and keep up with a full course load. If she couldn't then she would work through the summer to catch up so she could start junior year on time.

Yes she definitely wanted to stay in France for the time being.

And she thought she could keep herself on track but might need help while she got settled into a routine.

She hadn't decided on college yet and had no idea what she would do about money...

She starts to fade around 3pm they bundled her back to bed for a nap.

When her parents arrive an hour later Emily is fast asleep.

Jules and Elizabeth had both been restless all night. After notifying all the appropriate people that Emily had been found and was safe with her Grandparents they had attempted to sleep but at 3 that morning had packed their things, as well as a suitcase for Emily into the car and started the 12 hour drive.

They had been aware for months that something was pulling Emily down a dark path and had been powerless to stop it. She wouldn't talk to them about why she was so unhappy or angry.

Elizabeth knew Emily blamed her career... they'd hoped it would be a short lived phase and once she'd settled into school Emily would pick up but as time passed and things didn't get better they only got worse so they'd started planning ways to get Emily out of Rome.

One of the goals of their trip back to Washington had been to secure a posting back in the States for Emily's Junior and senior years. They'd also discussed sending her to France for Christmas and offering her the option of staying there until the posting in Washington came through.

It seemed to be too late... according to the little Matthew Benton had been willing to say and the revelations from Father Gamino's visit they'd left it too long and their daughter had some very tough decisions to make.

The Inn was quiet, all of the lunch trade finished and the evening not yet started.

Andre and Fleur were seated in a corner booth waiting for either Emily to wake up or her parents to arrive. As they'd hoped Emily was still asleep when Elizabeth and Jules entered.

"Where is she?" Elizabeth didn't greet her in-laws, she was too focused on seeing for herself that Emily was ok.

"She's asleep and there is much we need to discuss before she wakes up." Andre watched as they exchanged glances "You already know… Matthew or that Priest?" Andre spat the word Priest out.

"When the news broke about Emily's disappearance Father Gamino visited long enough to tell us Emily came to him and what he told her. He's no longer welcome in our home… Matthew wears his thoughts and feelings on his face so we knew the answer as soon as we asked him if Emily was pregnant. Now tell me which room Emily is in or I'll go and bang on every door until I find her." Elizabeth was too tired to care about politeness and just wanted to see that her daughter was ok for herself.

"Room 5" Fleur stood to walk her to the room.

Standing at the door Elizabeth looked at the lump curled under the blankets. Emily's back was to the door and the only thing visible was the top of her head.

Up until 8 or 9 Emily had always had nightmares the first few weeks in a new country, some nights were so bad Elizabeth crawled into bed with her… curled around the tiny warm body to protect her from the fear of a strange room, a strange place… the fears of a child.

When they'd arrived in Jordan not long after Emily's tenth birthday they'd both been surprised when her terrified voice hadn't called for them in the middle of the night. They thought she'd grown out of it but now Elizabeth wondered if she'd truly grown out of the nightmares or if her words about Emily growing into a young lady had been taken to mean she couldn't seek comfort when she was afraid.

Shrugging out of her jacket and pulling her boots off Elizabeth lifted the blankets and slid in to curl around her daughter, arms pulling the teen as close as she could.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered as Emily shuffled in her sleep, turning so her forehead rests against her mother's collarbone.

Just like she had when she was small.

Several minutes pass before Andre and Jules appear, they had decided that it was too late in the day for them to head up to the chateau, the five of them would spend the night in le Bijou and leave in the morning.

"Elizabeth cannot stay more than a week" Jules told his father "but if you are willing it may be better for Emily if she doesn't return to Rome."

"Jules... come, we will wait out here." Andre led his son back out to the main room and poured them both a drink before speaking again.

"Emily's story is her own and she will tell you in her own time but we had already decided to suggest you leave her here with us."

"She was always happy here..." Jules murmured and then went on to tell his father what he and Elizabeth had planned while still trying to work out how they had missed her falling so far.

* * *

When Emily started to wake she found herself curled into another body, their arms wrapped around her and chin on top of her head. Her face was pressed into their neck and her hands were fisting their jumper clutching whoever it was close to her. Breathing deeply, Emily recognised the perfume.

Her Mother...

Pulling back slightly Emily opened her eyes to look up at her mother.

She didn't know what surprised her more... that she hadn't been woken up by yelling when her mother arrived or the soft look Elizabeth was giving her.

"Mom?"

Elizabeth pulled Emily close "I missed you..."

"I miss you too..." she mumbled into her mother's chest.

Elizabeth doesn't miss the present tense in Emily's words.

The move from Athens to Rome had included a promotion to Minister for Elizabeth, she had in fact been appointed Chargé d'affaires while a new Ambassadorial appointment was being made. The responsibilities and work load meant longer days and most evenings were either at an event of some sort or closed up in her private study. Prior to Rome Elizabeth and Jules had ensured if they weren't going to be home for dinner they had breakfast with Emily and one of them was there when she got home from school. That had stopped with the appointment to Rome and day's had gone by when she was in the office before Emily got up in the morning and didn't return home until long after she was in bed. She hadn't even noticed Emily started disappearing over night until one of the Marines pointed it out.

They'd thought Emily was ok with all the changes but those four words slapped Elizabeth in the face harder than finding out her 16 year old was pregnant.

They'd left her alone and Emily had gone searching for companionship and took anything she could get.

"Come on... dinner should be ready." Elizabeth pulled Emily upright and out of the bed, she could see the apprehension and shame on her daughters face... in the tight shirt and sweats her condition was obvious and her tense posture screamed out to Elizabeth that her daughter was expecting anger and condemnation from her parents and maybe that's what she would have received if she had come to them in Rome rather than taking off.

9 Day's since a call from the Embassy telling them Emily had left for school two days before and had not returned yet, a check with the school confirmed she hadn't attended class in 3 days. Jon Cooley hadn't seen her since the night before Elizabeth and Jules flew to Washington.

9 Days of not knowing if she was dead or alive.

Father Gamino had turned up and his story had infuriated them. Jules had immediately contacted the Father's superiors and asked them to explain why a distressed teenage girl hadn't been given the help she was obviously crying out for. Why had she been turned away with promises of damnation?

Matthew Benton claimed the same as Jon until faced with his best friends terrified parents wanting to know if Father Gamino had told them the truth.

Morgues and hospitals had been checked and there was no one matching her description.

9 days of the thought of never seeing her again.

The anger at finding out about the baby had been tempered by the knowledge of their daughter being so fearful of their reaction that she'd fled the country. The relief when they received confirmation that she was safe with her grandparents.

By the time they arrived in Les Viollins acceptance had set in.

Cupping Emily's face in her hands Elizabeth leaned in close to kiss her forehead. Leaning back Elizabeth held Emily's face and looked her straight in the eye.

"You are my daughter and I love you. Do you understand?"

Emily stared up at her and blinked slowly unsure of the answer.

"Did you make bad decisions?"

Nod

"Are you willing to live with the consequences?"

Nod

"Do you want to keep the baby?"

Emily paused a tear leaking out of her eye before nodding slowly.

"Then we'll work it out, cause nothing can make me stop loving you."

Emily's eyes drifted away from her mother's her doubt in the first and last statements obvious. Elizabeth pulled Emily into a tight hug and promised herself that by the time she had to go back to Rome Emily wouldn't doubt that her mother loved her.

"Come on Em... let's go eat."

"Bathroom first..."

"Get used it" Elizabeth commented as they went down the hall "it's only going to get worse".

The adults kept the conversation at dinner light, deciding any further conversations about Emily's future could take place once they were at the Chateau.

Between the all the changes her body is going through and the months of sleepless nights Emily didn't last long and ended up dozing on her father's shoulder after desert. Jules kept his arm tight around her.

They rouse her enough to get her back into bed, refusing to leave Emily for the time being Elizabeth settled herself with a book by the fire in Emily's room. After bringing their bags in Jules joined her and they sat in silence for several minutes.

"I'm going to take the training position..." Elizabeth eventually murmured.

The very first department to approach Elizabeth when word got out about her desire for a Washington based assignment had been the FSI. They had a position opening up the following June... technically a lateral move… a 3 year assignment to the Foreign Service Institute would look good on her resume and allow her the time and flexibility to get Emily through the final years of high school and her first year of college.

Several other offers had been made but none that would allow her to focus on Emily.

Jules smiled sadly "Sounds good... I think I'm going to contact the university and cancel all my engagements after the New Year. I'll stay here with Emily."

Most people assumed Emily got her language skills from her mother, and while it was true to an extent it was her father they truly came from. With a PHD in advanced linguistics Dr. Jules Prentiss was always inundated with requests to provide short courses and visiting lectures at Universities. If he'd calculated his dates correctly he'd been in Milan for a month of lectures when his then 15 year old daughter got pregnant.

Always in demand and always busy...

The night was peaceful, the fresh mountain air good for all of them.

As they were dressing the next morning Elizabeth turned to her daughter.

"Em, have you been seen by a Doctor yet? The clinic Matthew took you to doesn't count."

"No" Emily whispered, she'd been too scared to go and see someone after running out of the clinic.

"We'll call down to Freissinières and get you an appointment for this week."

In all honesty Elizabeth was panicking… her bright, curious beautiful daughter had her innocence stripped and had nearly been destroyed for a career move and she had no idea how to fix it.

She didn't even know if it would be possible to fix and if Emily was going to keep this baby then they only had 4 months to repair the damage that had happened so hard and so fast.

By lunch time they had passed Dormillouse and were heading west along the Torrent du Lait.

Pulling up at the chateau Elizabeth grinned at Jules and Emily's delight at being home.

The week at the Chateau was good for all of them. Despite the worsening weather Emily and Elizabeth spent their days wandering through the woods along the Torrent Du Lait their conversations meandered along events of the last year and tentative plans for the future.

The rupture in the relationship was stitched and bandaged… only time would tell if it would truly heal.

Hearing Emily talk about her experiences at the supposedly best school available Elizabeth planned to have a very frank discussion with the Headmaster when she went to remove Emily from the school. The day of Emily's doctor's appointment Jules had spent at the local school organising for them to support Emily as she finished her sophomore year via distance education.

Emily was hesitant at the idea of returning to Washington at this point, only the promise of being able to stay in France until July and the promise of staying put until she went to college got her even remotely receptive to the plan.

With a promise to be back the week before Christmas Jules and Elizabeth reluctantly returned to Rome.

END CHAPTER 1


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

The weeks that followed brought heavy snows and a growth spurt for Emily, even her giant hoodie couldn't hide the baby belly she was sporting.

Sometime in mid-November she was seated at the dining room table working diligently at an essay for English literature when a strange feeling low in her belly caught her by surprise. Seeing her startle and the frown the crossed her face Andre was immediately concerned.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah…" Emily's face relaxed and then she frowned again hand going to her belly. Shaking it off Emily went back to her school work.

The feeling came back as the three of them were eating dinner.

"It's like… you know when a soap bubble pops on your hand…? I've been feeling it for a while but it's really really strong now… it feels like it's going to pop out…" Emily tried to describe the feeling.

"The baby is big enough for you to feel them move… it wouldn't surprise me if we can feel it too soon."

"Oh…"

The Doctor had warned her that this would be happening soon, Emily just hadn't realised that this was what he was talking about. He had pronounced the two of them healthy but also warned her she was too skinny, Fleur had made it her mission to get Emily to a healthy weight.

By the time Jules and Elizabeth arrived for Christmas Emily had lost the gauntness she had been sporting all year. Under the tender ministrations of her grandparents Emily was thriving, the Doctor was happy with the baby's growth and Emily's weight gain, the school reported back that all the work she was submitting was of exceptional quality.

Her smile was wider and the light had started to return to her eyes.

They also brought back news from Rome, The Church had responded to their complaint about Father Gamino's actions and an official apology had been received but the Father was still heading up his congregation, preaching fire and brimstone. The Benton's and the Cooley's had refused to listen to their warnings and left the boys in the school, they could only watch sadly as both Matthew and Jon were dragged deeper into the lifestyle Emily had escaped by the skin of her teeth.

Many of the other parents had listened and the stories being told by their children, not just attending Emily's school but others as well, were heartbreaking. All across the city the kids were being pulled out of the local schools and either being home schooled or sent back to the US to boarding schools. None of the parents were willing to risk another local school. The schools were frantically trying to fix things internally before their reputations in the international community were completely ruined, rumours were already going back through to other Embassies and Consulates, and Elizabeth's contacts with the Canadians, Australians and British reported similar issues.

On New Year's Day Jules and Emily drove Elizabeth over to Turin for her flight back to Rome.

With very little to do but school work throughout January Jules struggled to keep up with his daughter. Emily threw herself into her school work and had managed to forge ahead at twice the speed they'd planned on. In an effort to keep her mind busy he started making her translate all of her school work into French and then the French into Arabic calligraphy. Occasionally to mix things up a bit he made her do the work in Spanish, translate it to Greek and then to English.

He also started to teach her Latin.

Elizabeth managed to get away from Rome for the occasional weekend and was surprised by the changes in Emily every time she arrived.

On the last Friday in February Jules was alone when she got off her flight to Turin late in the evening. Every other time Emily had been with him.

When they pulled into the Chateau not long before 1 am they were surprised to see the light in Emily's room still on.

"She should be asleep, she's been exhausted the last few weeks…" Jules commented.

"So was I." Elizabeth slid out of the car and into the bitterly cold Alpine night.

Pushing through the front door Elizabeth found Fleur in the kitchen making tea and sighed with relief when after a hug a steaming cup was pushed into her hands.

"What's she still doing up?"

"Say's she's restless, she can't settle."

"And what do you think?"

"I think you will be a Grandmother before you return the Rome."

Elizabeth hummed thoughtfully as Jules joined them and wrapped his hand around her shoulders. They we're both still disconcerted at the idea of being grandparents already, they thought they had another decade.

As busy as she had been Elizabeth was lonely back in Rome and couldn't wait until they were all together again. Leaning into Jules relaxed her in ways she simply couldn't replicate by herself.

Taking their tea into Emily's room Elizabeth found her daughter sitting in the window seat watching the snow fall. Emily turned and gave her a weak smile.

"Hey Mom…"

"Hey Em…" Elizabeth handed her the tea and ran a gentle hand over Emily's head, who leaned into the touch and rested her head on her mother's stomach. As she stood there in silence Elizabeth could feel Emily's body tensing in discomfort occasionally.

When their tea cups were empty she pulled her daughter to unsteady feet.

"Do you want me to stay with you tonight?"

"Yes please." Emily was exhausted and could feel something was different but wasn't sure what it was, couldn't even really describe it. All she knew is she didn't want to be alone.

"Get in bed, I'll be there in a minute."

In their room Elizabeth quickly changed and filled Jules in, Emily was in very early labour and they had hours before it really kicked off but Elizabeth was going to stay with her just in case.

They'd planned for this, the weather in February in the Alps was unpredictable. If they were lucky it would continue with just light flurries they would take Emily down to Les Viollins in the morning and the local midwife from Freissinières would meet them there. If it got any heavier overnight they wouldn't risk taking Emily down the mountain and hope someone could get up to them.

Worst case scenario it was up to them. Fleur had attended a large number of births… the women of the Alps all came to each other's aid when necessary.

Throughout the night Elizabeth dozes on and off and is grateful when Emily manages to sleep solidly through until 5:30 when she has a contraction strong enough to wake her. She didn't open her eyes, instead squeezing them shut tighter against the pressure, gasping and attempting to curl in on herself. Elizabeth gently rubs her back until it finishes.

"Shower darling and I'll make us tea" Knowing the warm water will relax her Elizabeth kisses Emily's forehead and slides out of the bed.

She stacks another two logs on the fire before heading to the kitchen and stoking up the fire there. While waiting for the water to boil Elizabeth looks out into the dark, with another hour until sunrise it's not pitch black and she can just make out vague shapes. Something doesn't look quite right frowning Elizabeth takes a chance and cracks the door open only to be greeted by snow up to her thighs.

They won't be getting Emily down to Les Viollins today.

Bolting from the room she goes to wake Jules before Emily realises, the last thing they need is for her to panic.

Seeing the snow on the ground and the amount still falling Jules swears under her breath and knows Elizabeth is right no one is getting up or down the mountain today.

Jules sends Elizabeth to bed for a few hours. He can keep Emily occupied and they'll need her rested later on in the day.

When Emily gets out of the shower he settles her on the couch in front of the fire and occupies her by reading Tolstoy to her in the original Russian and asking her to translate the sentences back to him.

Considering she was 5 when they left Kiev and they'd only been in Moscow for 10 weeks when she was nine Jules can't complain about her broken and hesitant translations but the exercise forces her focus away from the increasingly strong contractions.

Fleur and Andre take turns sitting with the two of them and when lying down becomes too uncomfortable they pace back and forth across the room with her.

When Elizabeth wakes at 10am the contractions are less than 2 minutes apart.

Fleur and Elizabeth hustle her back to the bedroom.

Emily's daughter is born just after two that afternoon in the middle of the worst February snow storm the Alps have seen in a decade.

Those first few moments before Fleur places the baby on Emily's chest feel like they go on forever as Emily stares at her unable to comprehend what had just happened.

The baby lets out a tiny bleating cry which startles Emily out of her shock. Reaching out her arms she takes the baby who stops crying on contact with Emily's warm skin.

Once the placenta is delivered, Fleur takes the baby to clean and dress while Elizabeth helps Emily shower. She gets back to her room to a clean baby and clean bed.

Emily loses track of time just staring at the baby. The thick hair is a few shades lighter than her own, eyes are just as dark, lips nose and ears might come from her father, only time will tell if she gets Emily's porcelain skin.

"Sleep now!" Fleur commands knowing the baby will be demanding to be fed soon and Emily needs to get used to the routine of caring for a new born.

As hard as it is when the first cries come an hour later Elizabeth waits a few minutes before entering the room. Emily needed to know now what she was in for. Needed to be willing to try to calm the baby by herself, when the crying is joined by a hiccoughing sob from Emily Elizabeth enters the room. Seeing her mother Emily's battle to keep herself under control is lost.

"Mom… she won't... I can't" Emily sobbed, she'd just dropped off to an exhausted sleep when her hour's old unnamed daughter started crying. Emily had nervously picked her up out of the bassinet, pulled her close and slid back into her warm bed… and had absolutely no idea what to do next.

"She will and you can." Elizabeth slid onto the bed and pulled Emily gently to her side. At least she was holding the baby correctly.

"You're tense and she can feel that. She will respond to you... if you are upset she will be upset. If you relax, she will relax"

Emily's head dropped onto her mother's shoulder, hot tears soaking into Elizabeth's sweater, as she gave up trying to make the baby stop crying. Elizabeth's hand came up and gentle fingers ran through Emily's hair, it was a touch that had relaxed Emily all her life. Emily had been about 3 day's old when she figured out running gentle fingers down the back of her head calmed her. Slowly the tension left Emily's body and the squalling baby started to settle as well.

"Watch her, learn to read her body and face... her cries will tell you what you need to know... is she hungry, wet, cold, lonely?"

Emily dropped her gaze down to the baby who was still moving and shuffling, looking for something.

"Move her up a little..." Elizabeth coached "Look at the way her face keeps moving towards you, her mouth opening and closing... she is searching for something only you can give her right now."

Understanding finally dawned... Emily reached up and undid the buttons on her pajama top and moved the fabric aside. They had already done this immediately after the birth so Emily sort of had an idea of what to do.

"Just relax and make sure she's in the right position..." Emily shuffled the baby slightly with Elizabeth's help. The baby turned her head towards Emily again, this time tiny lips found bare skin, mouth opened and closed around her mother's nipple. Emily's breath hitched at the strong tugging.

"Good girls" Elizabeth kissed Emily's temple as the last of the tension in their bodies dissipated.

"She'll want small amounts often at first, the older she gets the longer she'll feed" Elizabeth spoke again after several minutes. "Don't just pull her off, it will startle her and be painful for you. Slide your pinky finger into the corner of her mouth... good... lift her to your shoulder" she lifted her hand to cover Emily's on the baby's back to rub and pat gently until a quiet burp was heard. "Now repeat on the other side."

Elizabeth sat back and allowed Emily to place the baby and get her latched on. This time the baby fell asleep while suckling.

"Do you have a name for her yet?"

Emily hummed thoughtfully as she rubbed her daughters back with more confidence.

"Maybe..." her eyes drifted closed as the baby burped again "Can I... do you think it would be ok if I name her Fleur Elizabeth?"

Emily rested her head back on her mother's shoulder and was asleep before Elizabeth could respond.

Easing the baby out of Emily's arms she swaddled the infant and placed her in the bassinet by the bed before laying her daughter onto the pillows and leaving her girls to sleep.

3 hours later the crying started again. This time after only a minute it stopped, Elizabeth waited a few minutes before peeking into Emily's room and found her feeding the baby again, still unsure but with more confidence.

Standing at the door she listened as Emily quietly spoke to the baby.

"So here's the deal… you were not in the plan… apparently plans change… I have a promise to make you… I promise to do my best… I promise to make sure you always have a house to live in and something to wear and food to eat… I promise to love you… I can't promise it'll be easy or that I'll be any good but I will try."

Elizabeth silently vowed to herself that she would make sure Emily could keep her promises to her daughter.

* * *

They are trapped up in the mountains for four days before the roads become passable again.

The Doctor arrives and pronounces both of them healthy.

Elizabeth is tempted to stay, call her boss and demand to go on sabbatical until she starts at the FSI on the first of June.

She doesn't, Emily and baby Fleur are in good hands and there is a lot to do in the next three months to prepare for all four of them to move to Washington. The first of which is to get Fleur declared as their dependent and a Diplomatic passport issued for the baby.

One of the conditions Elizabeth and Jules had set was for Emily to sign legal guardianship of the baby over to them until she graduated college. They weren't planning on taking the baby away from her but it would force Emily to complete her education and offer a level of protection to the two of them until Emily got set up in a career and house of her own.

It takes several weeks for Emily to settle into a routine with the baby but by the time Fleur is 3 weeks old it wasn't uncommon to find Emily studying in her window seat or on the couch one foot rocking the bassinet gently as the baby slept.

None of them realised just how far ahead in her studies Emily had managed to get until she sat down with the examiner at the beginning of May and passed all of her sophomore exams with flying colours. The woman was curious after Emily made an offhand comment about a Senior year literature text she'd read and upon further questioning offered her the chance to take her Junior year language, English and History exams that day. If she passed they would register the courses as complete, if not then no harm done.

A week later the examiner returned with the exams for senior year.

Meanwhile Elizabeth had finished up in Rome and was back in Washington preparing for her new position and opening up the house they had visited infrequently over the last decade.

As their travel date got closer Emily became more and more apprehensive of leaving.

The bubble she'd been shut away in was expanding and all her fears were coming back to the surface.

From a young age her parents had drilled into her the importance of appearances. Perfection wasn't expected, but Emily had always known her behaviour reflected on her parents and up until they moved to Rome she had been cautious about what people saw.

She didn't want to let her parents down.

As long as she stayed in France hidden away in the Alps with her grandparents no one could accuse them of being bad parents, of letting their daughter go wild.

She didn't know that her Mother had been bluntly honest about why Emily hadn't returned to Rome, there was a picture of Fleur, Elizabeth, Emily and baby Fleur on her desk - a proud grandmother showing off her girls.

Instead of allowing anyone to shame them, ever the politician she turned it around on them and forced the other parents to answer for themselves.

'Where are your teenagers right now? Did they really cope with the last move or are they pretending to so they don't disappoint you? How are they treated at school? When was the last time you had a meal with them, helped them with homework, and took them out for the day? Put them first?'

All the questions she wished someone had asked her.

By the time they arrive in Paris in early July Emily was a nervous wreck. Feeding off her mother's mood Fleur refused to settle for her as they waited for their flight to be called.

"Emily, you're upsetting the baby." Jules hoped his harshness got through to her "either calm yourself down or hand her to me."

Emily's jaw dropped at hearing her father snap at her, her eyes flickered between her grumpy 3 month old and her frustrated father. After a moment of indecision she passed Fleur off to her father who settled the baby on his chest and rolled his eyes as Emily continued to pace, picking at her nails.

They'd seen this coming...

By the time the plane is taxing Emily has worried herself into exhaustion and settles Fleur into the sling to nurse during takeoff. Jules sighs in relief when they're both asleep by the time the seat belt sign flashes off. He covers them with a blanket and settles in with his book.

* * *

July in DC is a far cry from the Alps, both Emily and Fleur come down with head colds and struggle to cope with the heat.

Elizabeth had organised for basic furniture for the girls bedrooms but left the decorating to Emily.

Mature beyond the current trend Emily left the walls of her bedroom white and stuck with plain furniture matching the curtains and bedding to the beautiful red and black knit blanket her grandmother had made her.

Nearly throwing up at the pepto bismol pink that covered everything baby girl in the shops Emily left Fleur's room white as well and decorated everything in shades of purple and pale green.

The Sunday before Emily is to attend her final interview for Georgetown Day school the four of them escape the city for a day on Chesapeake Beach. Emily can't remember the last time she went to the beach.

It's a steaming Tuesday morning when Emily and Jules pulled up the Georgetown Day School, the High School campus was close enough for Emily to be dropped off and picked up from each day until she got her drivers permit. Of all the schools in the area this was the best option for Emily's junior and senior years of high school, its academics were top notch and they had a reputation for social conscience and activism.

Her admittance essays and initial application had already been approved, she just needed to get through the final interview with the Headmaster, Registrar and head of English. They were a little surprised by the soft French lilt to Emily's voice, a result of spending the last 10 months speaking mainly French.

"Up until the beginning of last year your marks were spectacular." Terrance Murdoch the head of English commented "They dropped dramatically and then picked up again when you started distance education the following November. Since then you've not just brought them back up but according to these transcripts you've completed several junior and senior year courses. What happened?"

Emily looked at her father, they'd known she would be asked about this and he and Elizabeth had spent day's preparing her answer. Not wanting to hide Emily's struggles in Rome and Fleur's existence they decided to be up front about what happened.

She took a deep breath, she hadn't had to tell her story to anyone but family.

"We moved from Athens to Rome at the beginning of my freshman year. I struggled to integrate... the local kids were particularly cruel to the International Students so I went from having a wide group of friends who I still keep in touch with to only having the two other boys my age living in the Embassy. It got to a point where I was willing to do anything to be accepted and made some incredibly bad decisions involving drugs and alcohol. Last September I found out I was pregnant."

Jules picked up the story from there "Emily's mother and I were aware she was unhappy but we allowed the pressure of our jobs to take too much of our attention so we didn't know how bad it was until we got word Emily hadn't returned from school one day. We weren't even in Rome at the time."

"I was nearly 5 months pregnant by then and knew I couldn't hide it for much longer so I left Rome and went to my Grandparents in France. Mère and Père followed when they found out where I had gone and we decided I would stay in France until the baby was born. Fleur is 5 months old."

"Except for her grandparents every single adult in Emily's life let her down and she has handled the results of her decisions admirably. Her mother and I have taken steps to ensure that it won't happen again and she has the support she needs to complete her high school education and go on to college."

"I've tested out of every language course you offer and completed all of the English and History AP requirements for both Junior and senior years which means I only need Math, Science and an elective course to graduate."

The registrar and Mr. Murdoch looked to Headmaster Lee for his response.

"I'm not sure how comfortable I am enrolling a student who has openly admitted to underage drinking, partaking in illegal drugs and who has a child at home. What's to assure me that if things get tough you want go down the same path?"

Jules opened his mouth to defend his daughter but stopped when Emily laid a hand on his arm and answered the Headmaster honestly.

"Nothing." Her gaze was steady "You have a lot of diplomats kids here right? Have you ever asked them how hard it is to be dragged from country to country, new language, new school, new friends... how we're treated? What do you do when you get to a new school and no one wants to be your friend cause you're the American kid of a diplomat? We're the perfect target and'll be gone in a year or two. I know a couple of kids who have come here and they all tell me this is a good place… no one gets left behind and we're all treated equally. That's all I need."

Mr. Murdoch nodded at her statement "One of the seniors who graduated last year had much the same experience. If the political climate is anti-American, that filters down to the kids and school can be intolerable. Unfortunately Emily's story isn't all that uncommon among diplobrats."

Hearing this Jules is never happier about the message they'd sent out to other FSO's… if you have to take your kids to Rome, home school them.

Studying Emily silently for a minute Headmaster Lee came to a decision "You'll have weekly sessions with the school counselor and Mr. Murdoch to make sure you're staying on track…" Emily and Jules both nodded their agreement. "Welcome to Georgetown Day School."

END CHAPTER 2


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Just a quick shout out to my reviewers. A big thank you to the readers who took the time to review.

* * *

CHAPTER 3

Four weeks into the school term Terrance Murdoch was worried. By all reports from her teachers Emily Prentiss was intelligent and engaging in class if a little anti-social, her homework and assignments completed on time and if the quality of work she was completing stayed on trend she would be in the top two or three students in her year potentially Valedictorian.

His worry stemmed from seeing her eating lunch alone on the quad every day and her name not appearing in a single extracurricular activity.

She was avoiding the other kids… and if the longing glances he caught her sending at the groups of girls laughing with their friends were any indication he could guess that the issue wasn't being unwilling to socialise but being scared to.

"What's got you so serious?" Maria Calhoun plopped herself down on the bench next to him.

"You have Emily Prentiss for Algebra… what do you think?"

"She's a good kid, smart, hardworking… a little stand offish… why?" If she was honest Emily seemed like the type of kid who would coast through her class unmemorabley.

"She's had a tough couple of years… a diplobrat."

"Ahh… makes sense." They watched as riotous laughter echoed across the quad and they both saw Emily watching over the top of the book she was pretending to read.

He grimaced as Emily put the book away and pulled a physics text out of her satchel. Terrance continued to keep an eye on her as she worked away the rest of her lunch break.

Two weeks later nothing had changed, Maria had taken to giving him updates "School work amazing, still not socialising."

* * *

Emily's 17th birthday is celebrated with just her parents and daughter.

All that changed on a sunny late October afternoon.

He was wandering through the quad between classes, noting Emily still sitting by herself when someone started calling her name.

"Emmy, Emmy, Emmy, Emmy, Emmy…"

A flash of blonde hair and red sweater streaked past him as Emily looked up at the noise.

The brunettes eyes went wide and the biggest smile Terrance had seen on her face broke out as she stood just in time for the blond to throw herself at Emily. Another two junior's trailed along watching in surprise at the exuberance being shown, Emily had been pleasant to everyone she met but hadn't engaged any further. Her not carrying a full course load didn't help.

He watched as they hugged and chattered away in what he thought was Greek and was awed when the conversation seamlessly slipped over to Arabic and then back to Greek.

Calandra Galatas' father was an attaché from Greece, she had lived in just as many countries as Emily and they had met when their parents had both been posted to Jordan. A month before Elizabeth had been reassigned to Athens Calandra's father had been recalled, Calandra had been the one Emily missed most when they left Athens as the girls had been at school together for 5 years at that point.

They still kept in touch, writing to each other weekly but Emily had no idea that the Galatas' had been assigned to Washington.

Calandra had kept their move secret wanting to surprise her friend. She was surprised to see Emily by herself and even more surprised to see her friend shy away from the other two juniors that had been incredibly welcoming.

Stepping back and looking her friend up and down "I missed you so much Emmy."

Turning to her guides Calandra explained

"Emmy and I knew each other in Jordan and Athens. I cried for weeks after they moved to Rome."

With the arrival of Calandra cracks started to form in the wall Emily had erected, while still not willing to approach anyone Emily isn't as standoffish and starts eating lunch with some of the girls in her grade, studying while they chat. She turns down all the invitations to Halloween parties but two weeks after Calandra's arrival she starts to joining in on some of their conversations, a few of them approach Calandra separately to ask what her story was.

"The year before we met… Emily lived in 4 different countries. Since we were both in Jordan Emily's lived in Greece, Italy, and France and here… it's hard to make friends and some places are worse than others."

Not long after that it's too cold to spend their lunches out in the quad so the teens migrate to one of the student lounges.

One Tuesday Emily gets to school late looking pale and drawn with dark smudges under her eyes. By the Thursday everyone is worried, but Emily is tight lipped about what is wrong.

She falls asleep at her desk half way through Algebra.

Maria Calhoun has her back to the class writing on the board when the giggling starts. Looking over her shoulder she sees the pointing and stares at Emily whose head has fallen on her arms and eyes are closed.

Shooting the rest of the kids a dirty look Maria walks over to shake the exhausted teen awake. With a gasp Emily bolts upright and it takes a moment to realise she's at school. Looking down Maria can see tears of embarrassment pooling.

Maria genuinely liked the brunette and no longer considered her unmemorable. She was hard working, smart as a whip and when let out had a wicked sense of humour. Emily's ability to throw out a slyly inappropriate one liner had caused the teacher to turn away to stop the giggles more than once.

"Stay after class so we can chat." Maria murmured not wanting to single Emily out any more than she already was, there was only 10 minutes left so she wasn't worried.

When the bell rang Emily waited at her desk slumped over, barely awake, and absolutely mortified at falling asleep in class.

Sitting in the chair next to Emily, Maria took a moment to study her student.

"You want to tell me what's going on?"

"I haven't been sleeping well the last couple of nights..." Emily won't look her in the eye

"That's obvious, are you gonna tell me why?"

"It's nothing, just some stuff at home."

Maria is instantly worried, diplobrats were a breed unto themselves. Tough, self-sufficient, some of the quickest thinkers she had ever met, many of them could read a room better than their teachers and fake their way through a meeting better than most politicians. They were also more stubborn and less trusting than your everyday teen, gaining a diplobrats trust was never a sprint but a marathon. It had to be bad for Emily to say as much as she did.

"Ok, do me a favour? If you don't get a good night's sleep tonight stay home tomorrow. If you're tired enough to fall asleep in class then you won't be learning anything so there's no point in being here. I'll need to call your parents if it happens again." Strangely the threat of calling Emily's parents results in absolutely no reaction. Normally she would get empty reassurances and promises but Emily just nods her thanks to Maria and heads out to lunch.

When Maria walks past the student lounge 20 minutes later Emily is asleep on one of the two seaters, her head resting on Calandra's thigh.

Despite the warning Emily is at school the next day looking even worse.

She doesn't even make it to algebra, one of the girls who has become friendly with Emily reports that she dozed off during her study period and they decided to leave Emily and let the teacher know.

Maria set's the class to work, turns them over to a TA and heads down to the lounge to find Calandra and Emily in the exact same position as the day before.

"Do you know what's wrong?" Maria whispers.

Calandra set's her mouth in a stubborn line, but nods her head anyway.

"Will she get into trouble if I call her parents?"

She shakes her head no.

"Will one of them come and pick her up?"

Calandra shrugs, she knows Jules and Elizabeth have tried to work their own schedules around Emily's classes but there are still 2 days a week Fleur is with a sitter and Calandra isn't sure which two.

Maria leans back in thought and after a few moments comes to a decision.

She quickly writes a hall pass for Calandra and hands it over before shaking Emily awake. It's a chore to get her upright and moving towards the nurse's office. Once she has Emily mobile Maria sends Calandra off to class.

"I told you to stay home..." Maria mutters as she only just manages to stop Emily from walking into a wall.

"'m srry..." is the mumbled reply

She gets Emily to sick bay and leaves her with the nurse and the nurse with instructions to notify her when one of the Prentiss' has been contacted and when they'll be there.

She is surprised when just before the bell a note arrives to let her know that Mr. Prentiss is 10 minutes away. By the time she dismisses her class and gets back to the nurses office, Emily's father is already in there. She can just make out what is being said.

"This is why we told you to stay home..." an accented masculine voice floats through the door there's no anger or censure in the voice, more affectionate exasperation than anything. Maria is relieved that it was Emily's stubbornness and not pushy parents that's been forcing her to school the last few days.

"Daaad" and there's the teenage whine.

Rapping lightly on the door she waits for permission before entering to find Emily still half asleep sitting up in the bed. The baby in her arms is a surprise especially the way she is clinging to Emily and rubbing her face on Emily's shirt.

"Mrs. Calhoun..." the pure surprise on Emily's face stops Maria for a moment.

"Jules Prentiss" her father holds his hand out.

"I'm Emily's Algebra teacher, Maria Calhoun. I just wanted to make sure everything was ok. Emily's become one of my favourites." She see's confusion cross Emily's face at the statement and in that moment decides to go back and take a look at Emily's transcripts. There's obviously more to the story than what Terrance told her.

"Teething..." he nods down at the baby who is now chewing enthusiastically on the knuckle of Emily's thumb.

Emily stops paying attention, instead she dozes as the baby continues to gnaw during the impromptu parent/teacher meeting and only wakes when Fleur lets out a furious shriek after Jules attempts to remove her from a sleeping Emily's arms, he quickly put the baby back to stop the imminent meltdown.

"Ok, back to Mommy..." he shrugs at Maria "Maman and Papa are getting plenty of sleep, Mommy not so much."

Jules looks askance at the shock on Maria's face... they'd assumed Headmaster Lee had informed the faculty that Emily had the baby at home. At the questioning look he throws her Emily shrugs.

"I thought they all knew..."

"No one has mentioned anything to us" Maria confirms reeling from her entire perception of Emily Prentiss being turned on its head.

"Fleur was born in February" Emily watches her warily, waiting for the negative reaction. Seeing the apprehension Maria fights to keep her expression neutral. The comment from Jules and how at ease Emily is with the baby tells Maria Emily is the primary care giver and Jules's relaxed manner makes it obvious her parents are supportive

They chat for a few more minutes until Jules notices Emily dropping back off and decides to get her home. He tries to take the baby again only to get another cry of rage from her. When Emily takes the baby back Fleur throws the angriest baby glare she's ever seen at Jules and it takes everything Maria has not to laugh.

It's the glare Emily uses on a particularly difficult equation.

Maria watches them walk down the hall contemplating the mystery of Emily Prentiss.

When Jules gets the girls home Elizabeth is there working in her office. Emily has managed to stay awake for the 8 minute drive and when Fleur once again refuses to let anyone take her from her mother Emily bursts into tears.

Jules remembers the exact same thing happening with Emily. All three of them had been miserable for 5 days, Emily refusing to go to anyone but her mother and her father at his wits end with no idea how the help either of them.

For the last few days Emily had been feeding the baby before school, putting her down for a nap and then sneaking out of the house. While not happy about her mother not being there when she woke Fleur had been manageable, the second Emily got home she screamed if she wasn't immediately handed over.

She was up and down all night, refusing to settle for anyone but Emily, leaving an exhausted and wrung out mother.

He and Elizabeth lock eyes over Emily's head, they'd tried to help Emily with the baby but she was insistent. Fleur was her daughter, her responsibility... she chose to keep the baby and she was the one that would care for her. Emily had been at the point where she was too tired to be reasonable for two days and had moved on to being too tired to fight them on anything.

She hadn't quite realised that if she'd been 10 years older her parents would have still been willing to help in any way they could.

Doing exactly what Elizabeth's father had done 17 years before Jules plucks Fleur out of Emily's arms, pushes his daughter towards Elizabeth and goes back out to the car.

Strapping the raging baby into her car seat he pulls out and heads north on Massachusetts Avenue. If he remembers correctly driving to Delaplane via Frederick should give Emily 3ish hours sleep.

Fleur is stubborn like her mother and continues to scream angrily at him as long as she can but as they're passing through Gaithersburg she drops down into a hiccoughing whine. By Frederick she's silent and asleep by Jefferson.

If he wasn't so frustrated Jules would be impressed by the 8 and a 1/2 month olds staying power.

She wakes as they're coming back through Bethesda and babbles happily until they get home and when he unstraps her from the car seat Fleur grins then smacks her lips together wanting a kiss. Pressing his lips to her cheek he mutters under his breath.

"Tu es la fille de ta mère" ( _You are your mothers daughter_ ).

The house is silent, he pops Fleur in her play pen just as Elizabeth emerges from her study. He's not even willing to say Emily's name at this point for fear of setting the baby off so he raises his eyebrow at Elizabeth who grins slyly.

"I called my sister, she's spending the night there."

"Risky move." 10 years older than Elizabeth, Emily's Aunt Theresa had initially been critical of the way Elizabeth and Jules had handled Emily's pregnancy but seemed to have softened since they'd returned to Washington and had seen for herself how forcefully Emily refused to let them care for Fleur more than necessary.

"I reminded her of how often I helped when Teddy and Louise were teething. As for getting you know who out of the house, it's a calculated risk, I'll take the sleepless night for us tonight in order to have a functioning daughter tomorrow."

When Emily is dropped off the next day she is in much better shape, on top of that Fleur's teeth had finally broke through sometime the previous afternoon and she is much happier without the constant irritation and pain in her gums.

Walking through the front door she found her Father reading on the couch with Fleur playing at his feet. Seeing her Mother appear the baby squealed in delight and rocked over onto her hands and knees. She'd been shuffling on her belly for a few weeks now but hadn't quite managed to get all four of her limbs working together enough to call it crawling.

That Saturday morning is different... instead sliding and shuffling along the polished wooden floor on her belly, arms and legs all get the right messages at the right time to get her to the mother she'd never before been separated from overnight.

When Emily gets to school on Monday she notices some of the other students staring at her and whispering. She'd been expecting this since being seen with Fleur on Friday afternoon. Holding her head up high Emily ignored them and strode through the front doors of the school.

Calandra is waiting at Emily's locker glaring at anyone hanging around who shouldn't be.

"Éna apó ta agória sas eíde me tin Fleur tin Paraskeví" ( _One of the boys saw you with Fleur on Friday_ ). Calandra was never one to beat around the bush.

"Xéro, ti échoun pei?" ( _I know, what have they been saying?_ )

"Sas píre o bampás sas kai fánike polý áneta me to moró." ( _You were picked up by your Dad and looked very comfortable with the baby_.)

"Kai ti eípate?" ( _And what did you say?_ )

"Tous eípa na apascholoún ti dikí tous douleiá" ( _I told them to mind their own fucking business_ ).

Emily laughed out loud.

"Poté min allázete tin Calandra Galatas" ( _Never change Calandra Galatas_ ). Emily watched the other students over Calandra's shoulder, it wasn't often they dropped out of English and everyone was curious about what the two were talking about. As far as they knew there was only two other's with enough Greek to keep up with them and those two enjoyed the colour commentary too much to translate and risk them switching languages.

"Tha léte típota?" ( _Are you going to say anything?_ ) Calandra asks as they head to physics.

"Móno an kápoios megalósei merikés báles kai me rotáei kateftheían!" ( _Only if someone grows some balls and asks me straight out!_ )

Maria smiled when she saw a well-rested Emily walk into the class.

It's not until lunch that anyone works up the courage to ask Emily about the previous week, the three girls Emily and Calandra had been eating with all looked at Emily expectantly. Some sadistic part of Emily wanted them to work for it.

"What?"

"The baby you were seen with on Friday..." Tania is the bravest of them "Your sister or your daughter? The rumour mill can't decide..."

"Fleur is my daughter... she's nearly 9 months old." Emily forces herself not to look away from them, she can hear her Mother's voice in her head.

 _'Do not let anyone look down on you. You take what happened and wear it like armour, own it!'_

"Wow..." Melissa breathed, they hadn't expected it to be so easy "that's why you're never free to go out with us?"

Emily blinked at the response... she hadn't expected that. Calandra smiled, she'd been telling Emily she could trust these girls. She'd also been telling the girls Emily would open up in her own time... and when she finally did not to push.

At lunch the next day Melissa grinned at the whole group "I spoke to my Mom, pizza and movie night at my place Friday night and Fleur is welcome as well" she looked directly at Emily with a big grin.

Emily swallowed hard and smiled back... this is what she'd missed.

On Thursday Elizabeth gets a call from Headmaster Lee requesting a meeting the following Monday.

At 5:30 Friday night Emily pulled up to Melissa's house in Somerset. Despite Melissa's assurances that both she and the baby were welcome Emily was still nervous about meeting new people.

People didn't always accept the fact that the 17 year old daughter of a career politician had a baby.

Shouldering the diaper bag and unstrapping Fleur from the backseat Emily took a deep breath and headed up the walk.

The door was opened by a woman in her early 40's who introduced herself as Melissa's Mom Nancy.

Nancy's immediate reaction to being asked if Melissa's friend Emily could bring her baby had been a forceful 'No', she'd almost forbidden Melissa from socialising with Emily but something in Melissa's face had given her pause. At the beginning of term Melissa had mentioned the new girl Emily who'd just moved over from France. A loner, Melissa had said, sad had been another observation... more information had started coming once Calandra arrived, the boisterous Grecian happily telling stories about going to school with Emily first in Amman and then Athens, the girl in the stories nothing like the girl Melissa described.

If Nancy counted correctly Calandra mentioned Emily living in at least 6 other places.

Weeks earlier Nancy had asked Melissa if they'd invited Emily out with the rest of them. Yes they had and they were always refused, Emily never said exactly why she couldn't come out just all-encompassing family commitments.

Now there was a 17 year old with a baby on her hip standing on Nancy's doorstep... she still wasn't comfortable with it but Melissa had begged and pleaded for her mother to at least meet Emily and then decide. They'd watched the girl ghost through school alone for 6 weeks and then spent another 4 getting her to open up.

Showing her down to the basement they'd converted to an entertaining area Nancy took the bag Emily had handed over on entry and saw a collection of snacks to share.

She shrugged at Nancy's questioning look as she reached into her pocket and pulled out some cash "for the pizza". When Nancy refused the money Emily decided to just leave it on the entry table.

A part of Nancy was expecting Emily to try and palm the baby off onto her instead of clutching the baby close to her while insisting on paying her own way.

When Emily came upstairs an hour later to heat up the baby's dinner Nancy watched as the teen expertly navigated the food prep without dropping anything or handing Fleur off, talking to the baby as she went and Fleur responding with happy babble.

"I almost said no to Melissa inviting you when I found out about Fleur"

"I suspected" there's only weary acceptance in her voice.

"You're not ashamed?"

"Of my actions yes... of her never." Emily gets the bib on one handed and the pulls the warmed baby mush out of the microwave "Do you mind if I feed her up here, there's too much to distract her down there?"

At least she was sensible.

"No problem..." there's something innately likeable about the teen. Nancy can't quite work out what it is yet so she seats herself at the kitchen table.

Emily has the baby securely in her lap, the chosen mush obviously a favourite as Fleur eagerly leans into every spoonful mouth open wide.

"How did your parent's react?"

Emily takes her focus off the baby long enough to look her in the eye and Nancy suddenly gets the feeling she's the one being judged. There's a depth and wisdom to the nearly black eyes that she didn't expect from one so young.

"Better than they should have... Mom said me fleeing the country and being missing for 10 days pushed them into quick acceptance."

"You went to Canada?" Nancy asked momentarily forgetting Emily hadn't lived in DC her whole life.

"No... We were living in Rome, I took trains and busses to the border near Turin and then hiked the ski trails from Italy to France after that was a lot of walking and hitchhiking. My Grandparents live in the French Alps."

Nancy blinked... that wasn't something you heard every day.

"Wow..." Nancy paused trying to decide if she was impressed by the guts and determination or horrified at the stupidity.

"Not my smartest move but I wasn't exactly thinking straight." She scraped the last of the food out of the bowl and into Fleur's mouth before pulling a clean cloth out of the diaper bag, wetting it down and wiping up the chunks of food that hadn't made it into Fleur's mouth.

"I was a mess, I had been for a while…" She pulls Fleur a little closer resting her cheek on top of the baby's head "All I knew was I had to get out of Rome."

"What about her father?" Nancy asked "Is he involved at all?"

"No… it's just us." There's something in Emily's face that gives Nancy pause but she doesn't press, she does wonder if she'll ever learn the whole story.

"You should head back downstairs." She looks at the baby bag as Emily slips the empty container in "Will she need a bottle before you go home? Feel free to pop it in the fridge."

This time Emily actually blushes "She won't take a bottle if I'm around. Is there somewhere I could nurse her at about 8:30?"

"You can use Mel's bedroom"

Emily's smiles her thanks and turns to go back downstairs.

"…And Emily… you two are welcome here anytime."

Nancy wonders how many 17 year olds would have left the baby with their parents for a night out, from what Melissa had said this was Emily's first time out since starting school.

When the pizza arrives Nancy takes it down stairs and finds the TV off and the girls chatting. Fleur is sitting happily in the middle of the group but makes a break for the stairs while Nancy is walking down them, Emily's leg automatically shoots out to block the baby's way. She pouts and turns back onto her bottom to look at the rest of the girls, with a determined look Fleur heads for the gap between Tania and Nicole who both move to block the baby.

"She's pretty fast" Tania giggles as Fleur changes direction and heads straight for Emily.

"She's only been crawling a week. Mom said I was the same, once I got going nothing could stop me."

When Fleur reaches Emily she crawls up onto Emily's legs, Emily shuffles slightly so the baby is sitting between her thighs, back resting against her stomach content for a few minutes until Emily starts eating pizza.

Twisting her head Fleur looks up curiously and then turns to face Emily. Studying her for a moment Fleur reaches a tiny hand up towards the pizza, when Emily pulls it away Fleur pouts and tries again.

"Hey Nancy?" Emily calls

"Yeah hon…"

"I think she wants to try some pizza but I'm not sure… she's never done this before…"

"Seeing the way she ate earlier I'm not surprised, she's getting to the age where she'll want to try anything you have. The rule of thumb for her age is as long as it's the consistency of mush and not too spicy…"

"So no to pizza" Emily looked down at her daughter who was still pouting and making grabby hands at the pizza "Sorry baby girl, this is not for you." At Emily's head shake Fleur's hands drop, after a minute of pouting she reaches up again but when Emily shakes her head again Fleur gives up.

END CHAPTER 3


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Monday morning Elizabeth and Emily are waiting in admin for Headmaster Lee, neither knowing why the meeting was called. Emily felt she'd done well on the PSAT's and looked to get a 4.0 on the mid-year exams, she hadn't been in trouble and hadn't skipped school once.

Once they're settled in the office with coffee Elizabeth stares down the headmaster daring him to find anything negative about her daughters behaviour since starting school.

Just as Elizabeth is about to demand an explanation there's a knock and the door and Terrence Murdoch slips in with a smile and apology.

"Before you ask no Emily isn't in any trouble, I just wanted to touch base especially after the last two weeks." Headmaster Lee assures them.

"From an academic standpoint Emily's performance is remarkable, all of her teachers report back they are more than happy with the work she's doing." Terrance smiles at the two of them. "Except for the week before last your attendance has been perfect."

"How is the baby now?"

"She's fine" Emily wasn't sure where this was going.

The Headmaster smiled again "After your interview with us in August; Terrance and I discussed your particular situation. It centred on whether to inform your teachers of your unique circumstances or not. Terrance argued and I agreed that you should be judged on your work and behaviour as it is now and not on past decisions. Which is why, at the beginning of term, none of the faculty were informed of your struggles in Rome and Fleur's existence."

"I know Mrs. Calhoun has met Fleur and knows she's yours and I assume Miss Galatas knows everything but have you told anyone else?" Terrance asked.

"Yeah, Tania, Melissa and Nicole know as well." Emily smiled "They all met Fleur on Friday night… we had pizza at Melissa's" Terrance knows the girls she's made friends with and they're all good kids.

"Emily... we'd like your permission to officially inform the rest of the faculty about Fleur." Headmaster Lee leaned backwards, knitting his hands over his stomach attempting to appear as nonthreatening as possible.

"If she say's no?" Elizabeth wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page before a decision was made.

"If asked we would neither confirm nor deny... we would advise them to approach Emily."

Turning to look at her daughter Elizabeth could see she didn't like that idea and suspected it had more to do with the inevitable follow up questions so she leaned over and whispered in her ear. Emily nodded her agreement to Elizabeth suggestion.

"We agree to you informing the staff on the proviso that if any of her teachers have questions beyond how she is coping with the work and the work load they call us and schedule a conference much like you have. Her Father or I will need to be present at any discussion involving events prior to the current school year." Elizabeth stared the Headmaster down "If this condition is not met... well I've already destroyed the reputation of one school."

"Acceptable. I will confirm that Fleur is Emily's daughter and that while we were not covering up the existence of Fleur we wanted to allow Emily the chance to settle in and make friends without her every moved being judged. We have a staff meeting this afternoon at 4pm, you and your husband are welcome to meet here afterwards to speak with her teachers yourself"

Mentally going over her schedule for the day Elizabeth nodded "I'll be here, I'll need to check with Emily's father and confirm his availability."

"Ummm" Emily interjected raising her hand slightly "Should I come too with Fleur?"

Elizabeth nodded when Headmaster Lee looked to her for confirmation.

"That's entirely up to you... I don't have a problem with it."

At 5pm that afternoon Emily and Elizabeth were waiting with Fleur in one of the conference rooms.

Not knowing how long the staff meeting would take Emily pulled out some homework and Elizabeth read through reports.

When Headmaster Lee walked in he found Emily sitting sideways at the table one foot on the stroller rocking it back and forth as she read through her physics text and made notes.

"I asked them to give me a few minutes" he stated, walking up to the stroller to get his first glimpse of the baby.

Dark, curious eyes blinked up at him before Fleur's face broke out into a smile showing off the teeth that had given them so much grief a few weeks before.

"Are you sure about this Emily?" he asked.

"No... Yeah..." Emily sighed and chewed on her lower lip for a moment "It was going to happen eventually and at least this way... Mom's here..."

Fleur chose that moment to voice her discontent with being contained. Emily quickly undid the straps and pulled her out, reaching into the bottom of the stroller she pulled out a couple of toys and moved over to sit down on the floor away from where Elizabeth was sitting.

Peter Lee wasn't sure if she sat with her back to the door on purpose or not.

At the door Maria watched Emily interact with the baby and considered what she'd just found out.

Poisonous was the word Peter had used to describe Emily's school in Rome. Malicious students and apathetic teachers...

Combined with absent parents it was a recipe for disaster.

It explained the confusion on Emily's face when Maria came to check on her in sick bay.

When Peter told the Prentiss' he'd wanted to give Emily a chance to settle into the school and make friends without the stigma of being a teen mom he wasn't lying... what he'd added when speaking to the staff was Emily's trust in educators had been destroyed, and she'd needed these first two months to be treated as an equal to all the other students and as long as no issues with her school work or health became evident their treatment of Emily was not to change. The parent's had done their part by getting her out of that environment and supporting their daughter as she walked a very tough road. It was now up to them to remind Emily not every school was like the one in Rome.

With the new information explaining several things she had been wondering about Maria felt she had already made a few inroads in gaining Emily's trust, any more information she got she wanted to be given freely by Emily.

Nodding at Elizabeth she walked over and sat down on the floor with Emily and Fleur and started chatting quietly about Fleur.

When was her birthday, did she have a favourite toy, favourite food... had Emily been talking to her in other languages.

This is how she would gain Emily's trust and respect be interested and non-judgmental.

Emily's Physics and Chemistry teachers also came in to speak with Elizabeth... their questions innocuous, for now centering on her homework load and how to tell and what to do if Emily was struggling, both requesting private meetings before Christmas break.

The head of languages Stuart Collins waited patiently inside the door, when he'd found out they were getting a student who had greater fluency in French and Spanish than their instructors he'd been ecstatic at the possibility of getting her to tutor some of his students for extra credit. He'd been firmly rebuffed by Emily who she stated she didn't have time.

He was hoping to get a few minutes with her and her mother to see if there was any flexibility at all.

He watched as Elizabeth flipped open Emily's homework binder and pulled out several sheets of paper.

"This is the first draft of her physics homework from today..."

"It's in… Arabic?"

"This is your warning sign that she's stressing about something... the calligraphy requires her complete focus and concentration, which helps calm her down. As long as her class work is done in English she's fine."

Stuart nearly laughed at the glare Emily threw over her shoulder at her Mother, she thought they hadn't noticed.

"Sorry to interrupt" Stuart stepped in "how many languages can Emily speak."

"She's fluent in English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Greek. Her Russian is iffy and her father has been teaching her Latin."

"and German" Emily adds.

Over in the corner Emily continued to chat with Mrs. Calhoun while keeping half an ear on her mother's conversation.

Fleur had grown bored with her toys and crawled up to Emily. Using first Emily's thigh, then knee, elbow and shoulder the baby slowly pulled herself up until she was upright. Unsure and unsteady Fleur looked around the room from her new vantage point wondering what to do next.

"Hey Mom... check this out" Emily called

"That's a first" Elizabeth grinned just as Fleur drops down onto her diaper clad bottom.

Emily winced at the unmistakable squelch that came from said diaper. Leaning back she snagged the diaper bag from the bottom of the stroller and quickly changed the baby.

Feeling the desire to show off in front of Mr. Collins Emily shuffles around so they're both facing her mother.

"Fleur, où est maman?" ( _Fleur, where is Maman?")_ She asks the baby loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Ba" she points to Elizabeth with a happy sound.

"Maman a besoin d'un baiser" ( _Maman needs a kiss_ ).

Fleur's eyes light up and she lurches forward scrambling across the carpet to Elizabeth who picks her up and accepts a sloppy baby kiss.

"Retour à Mommy" ( _Back to Mommy_ ) Elizabeth puts her back on the ground.

"We speak more French than English at home." Emily explains smiling proudly at her daughter.

"Speaking of French" Mr. Collins walks over to Emily "My offer of extra credit for tutoring is still open. Just tell me what you need and I'll make it happen."

"Honestly… The problem is our schedules are really tight. Mom and Dad have been really good about organising their day's around my school timetable to limit the amount of time she's with a sitter so I can't get to school any earlier or stay any later than I already do. The rest of Mom's week is going to be a nightmare after being here this morning and afternoon."

"So if I can find someone who could watch Fleur? I have two students who are really struggling and they need to bring their grades up."

Emily chewed on her lip, she really did want to help and the tutoring would look good on her college applications; but not at the cost of the delicate balance they'd found in the last two months, her parents schedules couldn't be changed easily and her mother had warned her to be cautious when changing Fleur's.

"Let me talk to my parents… can I come and talk to you during my study period tomorrow?"

Stuart nodded his agreement, it was better than the outright refusal he'd received a month before.

"Thanks..."

A frank discussion is held with her parents that night over whether it is a good idea or not and what term's Emily will need to set.

"This is politics at its most basic" her mother smirks at Emily's horrified look "you have something they want, you negotiate from a position of power and come out on top."

Rapping lightly on Mr. Collin's office door Emily stood and chewed on an already ragged thumbnail as she waited for a response.

"Emily!" whipping around in surprise she saw him coming down the hall with a student she didn't recognise.

Unlocking the door he let the girls in and sat them down.

"Emily Prentiss this is Lillian Baker... Lillian... Emily. Here's the deal... I have two students failing French, they both have the potential to get athletic college scholarships... if they can bring their grade up from a D to a B-, and they're willing to put in the work but need help. Emily could almost pass as a native French speaker but has responsibilities at home that don't leave her with any time which is where Lillian comes in. Lillian is doing an independent study in child development..."

Emily's eyes go wide as she realises what he's implying.

"Emily...? Do you mind if I explain?"

She shakes her head...

"Emily has a nine month old baby at home... if she's to tutor these two students then someone needs to keep an eye on Fleur. Lillian can use the time she's spending with Fleur to track development and milestones for her study... Everybody wins."

Emily watched Lillian out of the corner of her eye for her reaction. The older girl turns her head to look at Emily mouth opening and closing a few times as she tried to form a response.

"I'd heard a rumour..." she murmurs before shaking her head slightly "I'm in!"

"Emily? Will this work for you?"

"Yeah..." a smile breaks out on her face "That'll work, we'll need to sit down and work out a schedule that works for all of us. I can't just make changes at the last minute so once we set a time it needs to be stuck with. Ummm... my Dad wants to meet everyone first and if possible can everyone come to my place? It's easier than hauling the baby and all her stuff somewhere."

"Ok, meet back here same time tomorrow to work out a schedule that works for everyone."

The girls agree and leave the office at the same time, as they're wandering down the hall the silence becomes a little awkward.

"Ummm" Emily breaks the silence first "It might be better if Fleur meets you before I leave her with you..."

"I have Volleyball this afternoon but I can come over after that, meet Fleur, go over anything I need to know and I'll fill you in on the study I'm doing."

The two exchanged phone numbers and addresses agreeing to meet at 5:30 that evening.

As she walked to algebra Emily wondered if she would have 5 friends by the end of the day...

The meeting between Lillian and Fleur goes well, as does the initial few tutoring sessions in the lead up to Christmas. After a lot of thought Emily figures her father was onto something and gets them translating their other homework assignments into French and then reading the translations aloud.

Thanksgiving is spent at Aunt Theresa's, Emily entertains herself by leaving the room anytime her Aunt walks into it. Theresa seems to have moved on from criticising Emily for having the baby to criticising the way she's raising the baby.

Given her cousins avoid their Mother as much as possible she's not putting too much stock in the 'advice' she's getting.

Seemingly content to crawl for the moment Fleur hasn't attempted to get back on her feet. They have another week of horror just before Christmas when her next set of teeth are coming through. Emily end's up staying home from school for two days after an issue in Chemistry.

Doctor Talbot casts a quick eye over the quizzes as he collects them up making sure they all have the students names at the top. They'd all noticed Emily struggling the last few days and he has low hopes that she's done any well let alone finished the quiz.

Slow steady steps take him past her and he does a double take as his eyes flick over her paper. Every question is answered but he has no idea what it says.

He makes it back to the front of the room just as the bell rings.

"Emily..." he calls the teen over as she's walking past him.

"You need to go home." he says when only Tania is left hovering by the door.

"I'm fine Sir" the protest is mechanical and expected, he pulls her quiz from the top of the pile and hands it back to her.

Scanning it over she looks at him quizzically not understanding what the problem is.

"It's not in English..." She looks back down at the paper and flushes in embarrassment as she finally realises she answered everything in French.

"I'm so sorry sir... I can translate it for you right now if you want."

"Don't worry about it... go home, get some sleep and you can re-take the quiz when you're not randomly switching between English and French."

That evening when Jules gets home he finds Emily lying flat on her stomach asleep on the den floor, Fleur lying on top of Emily head resting between her mother's shoulder blades. The school had called him after Emily had been sent home, he'd agreed that she wouldn't returning to school for the rest of the week. He doesn't attempt to move Fleur only drops a light blanket over the two of them.

When Elizabeth gets home an hour later Fleur has woken and is sitting next to a still sleeping Emily using her rib cage as a back rest playing happily as Jules works on his marking on the couch.

Pulling out her own stack of marking Elizabeth settles down next to him.

Not long later Fleur crawls up to Emily's head and starts patting her face trying to wake her up.

"Ba, ba, ba, ba…" When she doesn't get a reaction Fleur turns to look at her Grandparents with a scowl. A quick glance at his watch tells Jules it's the baby's dinner time and Emily's not stirring.

"Which beast should we risk waking… the big or the little one?" Jules asked his wife.

"Neither" Elizabeth stands "I'll feed her right there..."

5 minutes later she's sitting next to them spooning a warm concoction of mashed potato, carrot and peas into her mouth.

Fleur's eyes light up as the first taste hits her mouth "mmmmmm" she mimics the sounds Emily makes when feeding her, tiny pink tongue poking out with every bite.

Fleur's first Christmas is massive, while her parents a sensible about what they buy the 10 month old her friends are not.

Every day the pile of gifts for the baby gets bigger.

Emily tries telling Calandra, Tania, Melissa and Nicole to stop but they refuse to listen. Fleur will never have a chance to wear all of the clothes they've bought her before growing out of them.

Even Lillian leaves a gift for the baby.

Her parents decide to open their house for everyone they know who has nowhere else to go… by midday the baby is so overwhelmed by all the new people and noises she has a very loud meltdown when she looks up from her playpen and can only see strangers. Emily was in the kitchen when she heard Fleur's terrified cries, she bolts to the den to discover her father had gotten to her first but the baby is inconsolable and throws herself at Emily who has to take her upstairs to try and calm her down.

When Elizabeth sticks her head into Emily's bedroom 30 minutes later she finds Emily sitting up in bed with Fleur cradled in her arms nursing, both their eyes are closed and bodies relaxed. Hearing the door open Emily cracks her eyes and gives her mother a watery smile.

"She asleep?"

"Not really, she's not even actually eating but every time I try to move she wakes and latches back on…" Emily winces as Fleur does just that, her teeth digging in "She wasn't angry or upset Mom… she was scared… I've never heard her cry like that…"

"She's never had a reason to" Elizabeth sits on the bed with them "it's a terrible thing when your child is scared and there's nothing you can do but hold them until it passes…"

"Come back down when you can." Elizabeth presses a kiss to Emily's cheek before leaving the room.

It's another half hour before Fleur is deeply asleep enough for Emily to put her in the crib.

* * *

Her mother's words stay with he, simmering in the back of her mind as New Year and January passes. Emily never brings it up with Elizabeth simply because she doesn't know what question she wants to ask or what she wants to say.

"Everything ok Em?" it's late January and she's back in Melissa's kitchen with Nancy, feeding Fleur while chatting with Nancy.

"Yeah… I've just… Mom said something and it got me thinking…"

Since that first night in November Nancy had become a bit of a confidant, Emily using her as a dress rehearsal when she needed to speak to her parents.

"Fleur had a meltdown on Christmas day… too much going on and too many new people… she was terrified when she couldn't see one of us. Mom said it's terrible when your kid is scared and all you can do is hold them. I just… it got me thinking about how she felt when I disappeared from Rome…"

"Hmmm" Nancy was non-committal, Emily spoke happily about living in Athens and Amman but seldom said anything about the time between leaving Greece and staying with her grandparents while pregnant.

"I told you I'd been a mess for a while and you've probably done the math and know I was 15 when I got pregnant…" Nancy nodded "Mom and Dad knew I was unhappy in Rome… but they'd been busy and didn't notice just how bad it was… I waited until they were on their way to Washington a few days after my 16th birthday before leaving. At the time I really believed no one would notice or care that I was gone... I thought **they** didn't care anymore. I found out later they were making plans to get out of Italy… get me out… anyway when I got to my grandparents the first thing my Papa did was call Mom and Dad. They drove 12 hours without stopping to get to me… I was asleep when they got there and I woke up and my Mom was right there… holding me… I was so caught up in being… well me… that I didn't notice how tightly she was holding on… how scared she was that I'd disappear again."

"Oh Em…" Nancy chuckled "and guess what's going to happen when Fleur is 16… you'll be terrified every time she leaves the house and she'll have no idea… it's the curse of Mothers and Daughters. As for running away… I get you were scared and your mother does as well… parents see a lot more than our teenagers think we do."

"I get that now, Mom and I spent a lot of time talking at the Chateau and I don't really want to bring it up with her again… I think I just needed to tell someone else."

"You can talk to me anytime… but Em, I want you to make me a promise…"

* * *

Three days before her first birthday Fleur takes her first steps. She'd been pulling herself up on anything she could reach since mid-January.

She and Tania were seated on the floor of the den doing their Chemistry homework, Jules was on the couch with his marking and Fleur had been entertaining herself using the couch and Jules to wander back and forth.

Emily looks up to see Fleur looking at her… lifting her hand Emily blows the baby a kiss a giant grin breaks out on the little face and she takes a wobbly step away from the couch and towards Emily.

Then another…

And another…

Fleur gets to five steps before dropping to her bottom and crawling the rest of the way. For the rest of the week Emily greets everyone with "Fleur's walking!" and a squeal of joy.

That Sunday all of Emily's friends from school, her aunt uncle and cousins all come over for a birthday lunch.

Fleur show's off her new walking skills and they're all grateful when the sugar finally works its way out of her system and she crashes.

That week at the school invites go out to the entire junior year, one of the football jocks is having a party while his parents are away for the weekend. Nicole and Tania both want to go, Calandra has an event at the Greek Embassy she has to attend and neither Melissa nor Emily are interested.

The girls don't push Emily to explain, she's never come right out and said it but enough hints have been dropped about how she ended up pregnant to know she won't attend a high school party like the one Kevin is planning.

The Monday after the party the school is buzzing over the events of that Saturday night… apparently a bunch of the seniors had crashed and brought friends from other schools, the police had been called somewhere around 1am.

Tania and Nicole were grounded until further notice…

All of the juniors were called into the gym for a lecture on the dangers of binge drinking and drugs.

"Tha sas váloun ekeí me mia baniéra gemáti apó vrómikes pánes tou Fleur" ( _They should put you up there with a tub full of Fleur's dirty diapers_ ) Calandra whispers in Emily's ear making her cover her mouth so no one see's or hears the giggle.

One of the Junior's had claimed they'd both been at the party but quick calls to their parents had quickly debunked that, confirming both Melissa and Emily had been at the Prentiss house all night, Calandra's parents had laughed and confirmed her whereabouts as well.

By now the entire junior year knows about Fleur and it was a last ditch effort of the student to get herself out of trouble.

* * *

With the weather warming up in March and her being a Mom common knowledge Emily wonders if it would be ok to take Fleur to a home football game. The baby's fear of strangers at Christmas still fresh in her mind she wants her daughter to start getting used to seeing more people she doesn't know. They can sit in a quieter area with people Fleur is familiar with.

Hanging back after Algebra one day she asks Maria what she thinks, the algebra teacher doesn't see an issue with it but warns Emily not everyone will be receptive to a junior bringing their toddler to a school event.

Her parents agree with Maria and encourage Emily to talk to Headmaster Lee before making a decision.

With the Headmasters agreement the first home game in April see's Emily navigating the crowd with Fleur in her stroller, there are quite a few looks from parents and students. A lot of them downright nasty. He along with Elizabeth and Jules had been protecting Emily from the backlash received from the other parents and for the most part since their outing last November it's died down.

 _'Do not let anyone look down on you. You take what happened and wear it like armour, own it!'_

She vaguely notices Mr. Murdoch intercepting a parent who is heading her way… she doesn't see Doctor Talbot doing the same.

She settles in a quieter part of the bleachers between Melissa and Calandra. Lillian and her friends sit behind them, the schools top baseball player Trent (one of the boys Emily tutors in French) sits with a few team mates in front of them.

Maria Calhoun takes a seat nearby forcing anyone who wants to approach Emily to go past her first, as the first whistle is blowing Headmaster Lee sits with her.

Fleur is watching everything from Emily's lap eyes wide, babbling away as she points at whatever catches her attention.

She has a small vocabulary 'Ball' and 'Ma' can be heard clearly… 'No' appears to be a catchall word for most other things.

Calandra is 'Lala', Tania Ta, Melissa Issy and Nicole is No.

By the half time whistle Fleur is dozing in Emily's lap exhausted by the excitement.

It's then she finally notices the interference being run by her teachers, catching Maria's eye Emily mouths 'Thank you'.

GDS wins the game which takes them through to the play offs, the night had gone well enough for Emily to make tentative plans to come to another home game.

As the SAT's approach Emily's stress levels skyrocket, despite carrying a 4.0 all year she's convinced she's going to fail. Fleur feeds off her mother's stress and the happy toddler is nowhere to be found which upsets Emily even more.

After a week of two unhappy girls despite Emily's protests that she needs to study Elizabeth and Jules pack the girls into the car and take them down to Cape Charles for the weekend.

When grades are posted at the end of the school year Emily hasn't just maintained her 4.0 GPA but her marks from the year before in English, French, Spanish and History stood as the top grades putting her in the number 2 place in her year.

Emily purchases small gifts to give out to her teachers during the last week of school… they're not large or expensive but she makes sure they're all thoughtful and perfect for the intended recipient.

One last girls night is planned at Melissa's and the five of them plus Fleur spend the night before they go their separate ways for the summer.

* * *

Two days after summer holiday's starts Jules drops Elizabeth, Emily and Fleur at the airport, he still has commitments at GWU but will be joining them in a week. The flight to Paris is uneventful as is the connection to Turin. As their rental car makes its way up the winding alpine roads Emily starts bouncing in her seat, as happy as she'd become in Washington the Chateau was still home.

Before Elizabeth even has a chance to cut of the engine Emily was out the car door and running towards Andre who was sitting on the porch. In that moment she could see Fleur at 17 running towards Jules.

Grinning as Emily threw herself her Grandfather, Elizabeth exited the car much more sedately and lifted a sleepy Fleur out of the car seat. Andre's eyes lit up as he saw the toddler, her face was a little rounder, hair a little lighter and nose not quite as long but she has Emily and Elizabeth's eyes, cheeks, chin and skin.

Right down to the dimples.

Placing the toddler on the ground Elizabeth leans down and whispers in her ear "Go to Grandpapa…"

"Gapapa…" despite being only 3 months old when they left France Emily has been showing Fleur pictures of her great grandparents and telling her stories hoping that she at least won't shy away from them when she finally sees them again.

With a giggle the little girl toddles towards them.

From the front door there's a gasp and Fleur senior watches the scene with tears in her eyes.

The broken girl who'd arrived at le Bijou nearly two years before was gone as was the scared girl who'd left with her father a year ago. In her place a healthy happy young woman stood… she can see the future, the woman her Emily is becoming.

Strong…

END CHAPTER 4


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

AN: Here is your warning for an original character death in this chapter!

After Jules arrives they spend a month in the relative peace of the Alps. Emily takes Fleur on her favourite walks through the forest and along the Torrent Du Lait chattering away telling the toddler stories of her childhood adventures running free over these mountains.

Sitting in trees reading books from all over the world… disappearing into their lives… Anne of Green Gables, Heidi, Seven Little Australians, Little Women, Mallory Towers, Pippi Longstocking, The Secret Garden, Charlottes Web, Mary Poppins, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Matilda… Books she still has lining her shelves… Books she'll give her daughter to read… books her mother read with her and she'll read with Fleur.

Recently the books were changing, Slaughterhouse 5 and Mother Night have been read too many times to count, Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies, A Clockwork Orange, Picnic at Hanging Rock, all of Tolkien, Twain, Dickens… books that made her think, books she wanted to make Fleur think.

Some day's Elizabeth went with them, other's they left Fleur behind and the two of them wandered together.

Sitting at the kitchen table Emily starts drafting her college application essays. At first they're generic, they talk about commitment, and learning and loyalty... her Maman clucks her tongue and shakes her head as she reads them.

"These are not you Emily... these are a cardboard cut outs..."

Emily starts again...

 _'First and foremost there are three things you need to know about me._

 _1\. I have lived in 12 different countries_

 _2\. I am the daughter of a linguist and a politician_

 _3\. I am a mother_

 _These three things are my past, my present and my future. They are unchangeable and irrevocable and they shape the lens that I see the world through.'_

Fleur smiles as she reads over Emily's shoulder... this is better.

The discussion over colleges is loud and varied... her grades are good enough to get her into just about any Ivy League School. Her mother wants her to stay in the North East, her Father wants her to consider schools outside America... her Papa provides off colour commentary and her Maman wants her to be happy wherever she goes.

In the end it's her mother's words that help her short list her top five choices.

'Think about where you want to go after college... law, politics, education and go to the school that will help you not just decide on a path but be the most useful in getting you there.'

Yale

Columbia

Georgetown

Brown

Harvard

She doesn't mention she has two pros and con's lists sitting in the back of her binder one for majoring in psychology the other for criminology. Yale is her best option for either.

When they'd been planning the trip Emily had asked her parents if she and Fleur could stay in France through until the middle of August but it wasn't practical.

While Emily could fly as an unaccompanied minor Fleur couldn't. Either Jules or Elizabeth would have to come back to the Chateau and pick them up.

Returning with her parents also meant they could visit each of the campuses in her top 5.

Part of her wants to attend Georgetown simply because it would allow her to stay in the Valley Springs house with Fleur.

The day they leave, her Maman holds Emily close and whispers in her ear.

"You are strong, you are good and you are loved... remember this and nothing can stop you."

Fleur pulls back, cupping Emily's tear stained face in her hands and holds her gaze until Emily nods.

"I promise Maman... I'll remember and nothing will stop me..."

As they drive away Emily turns and watches out the back window...

* * *

By the end of the summer Emily is happy with her top five choices for college. The order has changed slightly, Yale is still number one but Georgetown and Columbia have swapped places.

Melissa's parents have their traditional Labour Day barbecue and all four of the Prentiss' attend along with Calandra and her parents.

The friendship the five girls had built since October has survived the summer and they are all looking forward to senior year.

Calandra is even trying to convince her parents to let her apply to college in the states.

Emily is carrying all AP classes for senior year, Algebra, Trigonometry, Chemistry, Physics along with electives in 19th century literature and health.

When she gets her schedule for the year she is relieved to have Mrs. Calhoun and Doctor Talbot again along with Mr. Murdoch for lit.

She only gets in a week and a half of classes before the bottom falls out of her world.

"Emily…" Doctor Talbot called out.

Taking her beaker off the flame, Emily turned off the gas and made sure her station was safe before acknowledging the teacher.

"You're needed in the office. Your mother is here…"

Blinking in surprise Emily quickly packed her books and walked out of the classroom to head towards the admin offices trying to work out what her mother would be doing at the school in the middle of the day. Fleur was with her father and she hadn't done anything to warrant a visit to the school so soon into the term.

Her stomach dropped the moment she saw Elizabeth, there was something… whatever reason she was here wasn't good.

"Mom?"

"Hey Em…" Elizabeth's voice cracked and Emily couldn't stop the apprehension that took hold. Elizabeth was always calm and composed in public, emotions were private and for family only.

"What's happened…? Fleur…? Daddy….? They're ok aren't they?"

"They're fine, your father received a call from Max le Bijou…"

"Papa and Maman… what happened?" Emily's bottom lip began to tremble… her mother wouldn't be here if it wasn't bad.

"Your Maman went for a nap… your Papa went to wake her but…"

"No… not Maman… she's Maman… "Emily shakes her head in denial but the truth is written all over her mother's tear stained face.

She can't see, everything is blurry and wrong… there's a rush of sound running through her ears and for the first time in her life Emily understands why people say you can feel the moment your heart breaks.

She doesn't know how to live in a world without her Maman.

She doesn't hear the thump of her binder hitting the ground or her own sob echoing off the office walls. She doesn't feel Elizabeth's arms wrapping around her or hear the words she's murmuring in her ear.

The rushing stops and the sound of Elizabeth's heart beat is so loud in her ears that nothing else gets through.

Time passes… Emily will never be able to tell you how long she cried or how she got into the Deputies office. All she will remember is the sound of her mother's heartbeat and the knowledge that her daughter will never really know the woman who spent hours teaching her how to knit, teaching her to cook Raclette and Bugnes and Tartes aux Myrtilles, who sat and read through essay after essay for her history and literature assignments who sat up with her when baby Fleur cried through the night, who taught her how the women of the Alps cared for their babies…

Who the night she turned up frozen, hungry, scared and pregnant held her until she cried herself to sleep.

When the tears run out she just wants to sleep.

She vaguely remembers Elizabeth telling the Deputy Jules is organising flights for them now and they don't know how long they will be gone for. A hand rustles in her bag and pulls out her car keys, her Aunt or cousin Louise will come and pick it up later in the day.

She's pulled up into a standing position her mother's arm tight around her shoulders… holding her up… moving her forward.

Emily isn't sure how but she blinks and she's at home with Fleur in her arms staring at the photo her mother had taken at the beginning of the summer less than an hour after they'd arrived at the Chateau.

Andre and Fleur were seated on the top step, Emily one below her shoulders between their knees baby Fleur in her great grandmothers arms.

Tiny arms wrap around Emily's neck and she clutches her daughter to her as she lays down on the bed photo still in hand, she falls asleep staring at the photo.

When she wakes to the doorbell ringing several hours later she is alone in the bed. Pushing herself upright Emily wanders down the stairs to see Mrs. Calhoun talking to her mother while handing over a binder.

"There's two weeks' worth of work for each subject plus a guideline of what they'll be looking at after that. If she doesn't get through it all or you're gone any longer then she can work with each of the teachers to plug any gaps and catch up, but Emily's disciplined enough, we're not too worried."

Seeing Emily standing silently behind them Maria's heart goes out to the teen who just acknowledges the teacher with a nod and goes back upstairs without actually saying anything.

Maria can see those giant stone walls coming back up to protect the hurting teen.

Stopping by her parents bedroom she see's Fleur is sitting on the floor playing quietly while her father packs a suitcase.

She doesn't say anything, just watches. The sound of the front door closing echo's through the house followed quickly by her mother's footsteps coming up the stairs. Arms wrap around her from behind and she is pulled against her mother's chest, Emily feels another sob bubbling up and tries to stop it but it heaves out of her mouth anyway startling her father out of his reverie. He is immediately in front of her wrapping his arms around both of them.

It takes her a moment to realise her father is crying as well, his hot tears in her hair.

He needs this contact as much as she does...

None of them notice Fleur losing interest in her toys and wandering over to them until little arms wrap around their legs. Jules lets go long enough to pick up his granddaughter and hug her close to him.

"Papa sad?" She asks as a little hand touches the tear tracks on his face.

"Yes little one, Papa is sad" he presses a kiss to her cheek "but you will make me happy again."

He pulls Elizabeth and Emily back close so their girls are safe between them.

Fleur's feet barely touch the ground over the next day of travelling. Jules carries her through the airport and onto the plane, holding the toddler through taxing and take off, only relinquishing his hold when she's too antsy to sit still or wants to go to Emily.

He's clinging to the little girl named for his mother.

This time as the car makes its way up the mountain road Emily doesn't want to actually arrive at the Chateau... once she's there she can't pretend her Maman is sitting in the kitchen singing to herself as she bakes or sits by the fire knitting.

Once she steps through the door and her Maman isn't there to greet her with a hug its real.

Jules older brother and younger sister are waiting for them at le Bijou and they all head up the mountain together.

It's a tight squeeze with 14 extra people in the Chateau but none of them care. Emily's room is occupied by her Aunt Lisette, Uncle Marcus and their three children so she ends up sleeping on a camp bed in her parent's room while Fleur sleeps between her parents.

The day after they arrive Emily can feel the Chateau walls closing in on her so bundles Fleur up into her back carrier and heads out onto the mountain. Hours later she's sitting on a rock watching Fleur chase a butterfly when there are footsteps behind her, turning she sees her Papa watching them. She doesn't smile as he approaches, nor does she speak.

He lowers himself onto her rock and they continue to watch Fleur in silence.

"She was so proud of you..." Andre eventually speaks "the way you picked yourself up and kept going, the way you saved yourself."

"I didn't save myself Papa, you and Maman saved me..." Emily chokes out.

"No little one... you saved yourself first... you did it all and we just cheered you on. She loved that little one of yours… was so happy when you were here this past summer... I think a part of her knew it would be your last one together."

They stayed up on the mountain for another few hours, mostly in silence before heading back down to the Chateau.

Three days later they bury Fleur in the family cemetery in Les Viollins.

The day after the funeral Andre is gone... they have a small cabin further in the mountains and he's heading there for a while.

He and Fleur had lived in the Chateau together for nearly 50 years so none of them are surprised.

The family stay's long enough to close up the Chalet for long periods of time, Jules and his siblings all agreeing to leave their father to his grief.

They return to DC two weeks after leaving... for Emily it feels like a lifetime has passed.

Her first day back at school passes by without her really noticing anything, she's jet lagged and feeling off...

The second day is better, she managed to get a full night's sleep so even if her mind is a little out of sorts her body is starting to catch up.

By the end of the week both she and Fleur have managed to get back into a schedule which makes life happier and easier for both of them.

Not once does she notice hate filled green eyes watching her in the halls.

Despite Melissa's invite Emily skips movie night that week, it's just too hard.

That year the homecoming game is played at GDS her second week back from France. A part of Emily doesn't want to go… its too normal… but another part of her longs to be surrounded by her friends and school mates so she bundles Fleur up and heads to the game. If it gets too much they can always leave at half time.

They sit in their normal seats with the baseball players in front of them, Trent's little sister just started her freshman year sits behind them.

There are some strange looks from the freshmen and their parents but everyone else is used to the presence of Fleur.

The following Tuesday Emily is at her locker when someone's bag smacks into her.

" _Puttana_ …" (Whore) is muttered in her ear but when she turns whoever it was has been lost in the sea of students.

She shakes it off as her imagination… until it happens the next day, and the next, and the next. Strangely she is always alone…

By the Friday she is paranoid enough that when she feels the bag hit her she spins fast enough to grab the person by the arm as they call her a whore again. Spinning them around she comes face to face with one of her most viscous tormenters from Rome.

Luca Moretti came from old money and her father practiced old school politics, if someone couldn't be bought off then they were shut out. They were pariah's never to be dealt with. Signore Moretti believed power came from control and money and he taught his daughter well. Luca had controlled all the girls their year and when she realised Emily wasn't worth controlling… she wasn't worth any of their time.

If the Moretti's were in Washington what was Luca doing at GDS, it was a great school, Emily could attest to that but Luca should be going to Georgetown Visitation Prep. A good Catholic girl at a good Catholic girl's school.

Blinking in shock at the sneer Luca had on her face Emily let go of her, slammed her locker shut and stalked down the hall trying to keep breathing.

Keep reminding herself that Luca had absolutely no control or influence at GDS, they were too academically focused here, money, prestige and political connection were not as important as your GPA and rank. The competition wasn't to get to varsity sports or be a cheerleader, the competition was all about grades and being in the top 5 in your year was the goal.

Emily walking in already having completed nearly half of her Junior and Senior years had caused a massive shake up in her grade.

The sports stars knew it paid to be on good terms with the top students because the faculty had no issue benching students if their grades dropped below a C in any class.

The soccer player she'd tutored the previous year had received her scholarship to Berkley which meant there had been a massive bidding war to get the time slot with her.

Trent had been about to be benched when Emily agreed to tutor him. He managed to pull a B in French the previous year and locked Emily in before the summer holidays with the promise of having a babysitter for Fleur available. He ended up paying his younger sister to babysit.

Luca didn't have the academics or discipline to become a power player at GDS.

Arriving at Algebra Emily took a deep breath and centred herself... at least she didn't have any classes with Luca.

Emily managed to get through the rest of the day without seeing Luca again.

When she got home that afternoon her first instinct was to run... grab Fleur and get out of Washington go anywhere that was away...

She didn't even realise she was acting on that instinct until she was in the car and driving down Massachusetts avenue. Swiping at the tears pooling in her eyes she drove for a while not really paying attention until she pulled up outside Melissa's house. She knew Melissa wouldn't be home, but Nancy was... Nancy would listen and sit with her and make sure she wasn't alone inside her head.

When Nancy opened the door Emily took a deep shuddering breath, she was keeping a promise Nancy had asked her to make not long after they first met.

"I'm running away..."

Fleur patted Emily's face "Mommy sad."

Nancy opened the door wider and let the distraught teen and confused toddler in.

She led the two out into her backyard where Emily put Fleur down to play and told her to wait there.

A quick phone call to Elizabeth Prentiss let the other woman know Emily had turned up on her doorstep upset and Nancy would keep them there until either Elizabeth or Jules arrived.

Pouring them a drink each Nancy headed back outside and sat next to Emily on the step while Fleur played with their cavalier.

"Thank you for keeping your promise..." Nancy murmured.

 _'If you ever feel like you need to run again... promise me you'll run here.'_

"Has Melissa met the new girl in our grade...?"

"The Italian girl?" Emily nodded "Hated her on sight" Nancy chuckled, her daughter was sweet and a little naive so for her to hate someone on sight sent up red flags.

"I went to school with Luca in Rome... she made my life hell. I can't do it again..." Emily explained what Luca had been doing all week... exactly the way things had started in Rome.

She told Nancy how it had slowly escalated, after a few weeks of bag smacking and snide remarks Luca had started making accusations against Emily... at first it was something small, a pen or pencil not returned... the accusations then grew more serious as time went on... stolen homework, projects sabotaged even physical violence... 5 different girls had claimed they saw Emily do it when she wasn't anywhere nearby. The school refused to call the parents in claiming it would be character building for the girls to sort it out between themselves.

The staff always believed Luca and her cronies, they wouldn't risk their jobs by going against the Moretti's.

Emily didn't stop her story there... she told Nancy about her descent into drinking, drug use and unprotected sex... getting pregnant.

It sounds so stupid to her now... the lengths she went to for acceptance. She can't work out why she cared so much about what they thought of her... they were nasty self-centered and cruel, everything Emily wasn't so why would she even want them as friends? She didn't really but all the other girls were too scared of Luca to go against her decree that Emily wasn't welcome.

"The cruelty of teenagers knows no bounds..." Nancy murmured, finally understanding why Emily had been so hesitant to tell her story.

Emily had finally talked herself out and was sitting there exhausted and wrung out watching her daughter play tug with the sweet natured pup.

Maybe they could get a pet when Fleur was older.

When Elizabeth rang the doorbell just before 6 Nancy lead her into the kitchen where they could watch Emily and Fleur.

"Does the name Luca Moretti mean anything to you?" Nancy had never seen the other woman look so angry as she explained what had been happening all week.

"She said she was planning to tell you as soon as she got home from school but she panicked when no one was there."

"I'm not surprised..." Elizabeth grimaced, she'd meant to be home but a meeting ran late. "That was what happened in Rome, she'd come in from school beaten down by everything that had happened and no one would be there... she'd sit there alone all night and the belief that she wasn't worth anything to anyone took hold... she said the silence got too loud so she stopped coming home, it took us and her grandparents months to convince her otherwise and rebuild her." In some ways she and Jules still were "Thank you for being there when I couldn't…"

When Peter Lee arrives at the school on Monday morning Elizabeth and Jules are waiting for him.

That day when Luca smacks Emily with her bag Trent see's it happen and steps into Luca's path.

"You should apologise to Emily"

His locker was a few down from Emily's and the previous Wednesday he'd seen Luca's bag hit her, he hadn't said anything, thinking it was an accident. When it happened again on the Thursday he hadn't been close enough to do anything so on Monday he made sure he was nearby.

"Excuse me?" Luca narrowed her eyes at him.

"You knocked Emily in the back with your bag... I saw you do it last week as well. You should apologise and watch where you're going."

"The puttana shouldn't be standing in my way." Luca steps around him and continues down the hall.

None of them notice Maria Calhoun watching.

"Emily..." Trent turned to look at her "What does that word mean?"

"It doesn't matter..." Emily shrugged "Thank you for trying but she'll never apologise, she's a spoiled little bitch who thinks her Father's name and money gives her the right to do whatever she wants."

At Trent's questioning look she elaborated slightly "I knew her in Rome."

Deciding to leave it alone for now and talk to Mr. Collins about what Luca had called Emily Trent changes the subject "We still on for this afternoon... 5pm sharp?"

"5pm sharp" she agreed.

They walked together to trigonometry chatting about the upcoming baseball game she was planning to attend with Fleur.

That night Emily reports back to her parents what had happened and how Trent stood up for her.

When Luca is walking down the hall on the Tuesday morning she can't get to Emily, Trent and several of his team mates are blocking the way.

Glaring at the boys she steps around them and heads to the admin office...

Mr. Collins had located an Italian to English dictionary for Trent and he knew exactly what Luca had called Emily. The entire senior year liked Emily, she was friendly, didn't care if you were a scholarship student or paying full fee's, what suburb you lived in, the colour of your skin or language you spoke at home. She cared about how you treated people and how hard you were willing to work so when it looked like the new girl was trying to start something he knew the rest of the grade would fall behind Emily.

Towards the end of Algebra Mrs. Calhoun received a note and when the bell rang asked Emily to stay back.

"I've been asked to walk you to the office" is all she says.

As they head down the hall's to admin they talk quietly about Fleur and how Emily is going with the slightly heavier work load.

Headmaster Lee is waiting for them with a hard look on his face. Emily knows immediately this isn't going to be pleasant. GDS has an incredibly strict honour code and whatever Luca has accused her of is a massive breach of it. Turning to the teacher she trusts the most Emily bites her lip.

"Can you please come in too?"

"Sure..."

The Headmaster doesn't argue, and is quite relieved that Maria is joining them. He trusts Maria to sit there as a support and not interfere.

"Emily, we've had someone make an accusation against you... and while you've been a model student in your time here as per the school policy we need to investigate, I've called your parents, your Mother is on her way here, we can wait for her before continuing if you'd like."

Closing her eyes against the burning humiliation Emily knows exactly who her accuser is and just wants to get it over with.

"What did Luca Moretti say I did to her?" Neither adults miss the resignation in Emily's voice nor that fact that she'd identified the other student straight away.

END CHAPTER 5

End AN: I'm really sorry I killed her, I got really attached to Maman.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

"She claims you tried to sell her cocaine and she saw you taking it in the bathroom yesterday." Maria's jaw drops... of all the students to accuse of being involved in drugs Emily is the last one on her list.

Emily, on the other hand is only surprised by Luca going this far on the first accusation, GDS has a zero tolerance policy on drugs and having them on campus is an expellable offense. She can only see one way to shut this down quickly.

Reaching down Emily picks up her bag and rummages around until she finds her car keys, placing them and the bag on the Headmasters desk she then tears a piece of paper off a notepad and quickly writes something down and hands it over.

"Firstly I want to know when she claims I did this, I want the chance provide witnesses to prove I did neither and secondly I have absolutely nothing to hide, my car keys, license plate, bag and locker combination... I'll wait while you search them and then I'll submit to a drug test." Emily looked Headmaster Lee in the eye as she stands and empties out her jeans pockets revealing $15 cash, a pack of gum, a receipt for diapers and sparkly purple barrette she'd shoved in there after doing Fleur's hair that morning.

"Excuse me?" he had been teaching long enough to know a student doesn't just open themselves up like that.

"Drug test me... I guarantee you it will come up negative. I can also provide you with regular drug test results going back to last July when we moved to Washington proving I'm clean and have been since starting here."

"Emily, why..." Maria wasn't even sure what question to ask, the implications of her statement scared her.

"Headmaster, you know my history. Did you really think my parents just shrugged and decided to ignore the fact that their 15 year old got pregnant while doing drugs? I signed custody over to them when Fleur was born and they agreed to support me raising her, the custody agreement states that if I return a positive drug test before my eighteenth birthday I go back to France and Fleur stays with my parents for good, all my parental rights severed. When I turn 18 next week I get physical custody but they keep legal, I test positive then and same thing, my parental rights are severed and full custody of her goes to my parents and my college fund gets transferred into her name. _When_ I graduate without a positive drug test and have a job the agreement becomes void and I am Fleur's sole guardian. I'm not going to risk Fleur to get high."

Peter didn't miss the emphasis Emily placed on when she graduates not if.

Maria's eyes flickered between the Headmaster and Emily, when he'd sat the staff down the previous November there had been no mention of drug abuse, alcohol yes but not drugs... but now she thought about it...

A small smile broke out on the Headmasters face "Thank you for proving me right, I'll do the search when your mother arrives."

Emily sat back in the seat with her heat hammering in her chest and blew her breath out in an attempt to calm herself down.

" _When_ I'm cleared I also expect Luca to be held accountable for her false accusations and face disciplinary action for _her_ breach of the schools honour code."

2 years ago Emily would never have dared stand up for herself like this.

When Elizabeth arrives 20 minutes later Emily and Maria are still waiting in the Headmasters office. Peter steps out and talks with her quietly for a moment before she pulls a piece of paper out of her briefcase.

Emily smirks... as the headmaster accepts it and quickly scans the paper before handing it to the deputy and says something. They had spent the weekend planning for this and Emily knew exactly what the paper said.

Entering the office Elizabeth closes the door behind her she raises an eyebrow as Maria doesn't move from her spot beside Emily.

"I'll leave when Emily asks me to"

"This is all formality Mom, we knew she'd pull something like this."

"Are you ok here with Mrs. Calhoun while I go with the Headmaster to your locker and car?"

"Yeah, we're fine. Can I have my binder back, at least I can get my homework done while I'm waiting."

Elizabeth nods and turns to leave the room "Oh and Mom..." Elizabeth looks back over her shoulder "I told them about our agreement... The Headmaster might want the back dated test results as supporting evidence when I'm cleared."

"That's fine, I've handed him written notification that you are not to be in any class with Luca Moretti and should you find her in any of your classes or homeroom you are to walk out immediately."

Maria was almost in information overload. All Peter had told her yesterday was to report back any interactions between Emily and Luca as there was a history of Luca bullying Emily in Rome.

"If you're still here by the time you're father has to go then he'll drop Fleur off with you."

"Thanks Mom."

Elizabeth nodded and walked back out to quietly speak with the Headmaster, he returned with Emily's bag and binder a few moments later.

"10:30 is your study period isn't it?"

"Yeah…" Emily took the binder absently flicking through it to make sure everything was in the right order, she hated it when someone got into it and mixed everything up.

"Where did you spend it yesterday?"

"With Mr. Collins, Dad said I was far enough along with German to take it as an independent study so I spent the whole time with him going over the requirements, he walked me to Algebra cause I was late and we were still talking… I think Dad wants to boast that his daughter's a hyper polyglot" she directed the last comment at Maria. Despite carrying an A in her AP class Emily's strength was in the humanities, she actually had to try in Math and Science classes.

"I can verify that she was a few minutes late to class yesterday and with Jason when she arrived, he stated she'd been with him all period."

When the door was closed again Emily turned to Maria "Thank you for telling the truth… one of my teachers in Rome actually lied about where I was when Luca accused me of tearing up her homework. They're too scared of her father."

"Thank you for trusting me with the information on Fleur's custody, and Emily… I would never lie for a student, not even you and your scary Mother."

Emily giggled and pulled out her homework while Maria went to her desk to grab the marking she had been planning to do that night. The two of them worked in silence for 45 minutes, Maria noting everything being done twice - the first draft in Arabic, before Headmaster Lee and Elizabeth returned.

"Emily, thank you for your co-operation as we thought there was no evidence of drugs or drug paraphernalia and we've confirmed your whereabouts during both instances yesterday, your Mother is going to bring in the results of your drug test from last week. I'll accept that… I've contacted Miss Moretti's parents and asked them to come in to discuss the false accusations levelled against you."

"Sir…" Emily looked between him and Mrs. Calhoun "Thank you for allowing me to prove my innocence, I also think an apology to you and the staff who had to spend time on this would be in order, as well as the students in Mrs. Calhoun's class this period as she spent it with me instead of teaching them"

Elizabeth had to bite back the proud grin, as much as she hated politics Emily was getting very good at spinning a situation into her favour. She had handled the afternoon with a maturity that impressed everyone. Her request proved just how reasonable, honest and concerned about others she was...

"Headmaster, I'm going to sign Emily out for the day, her last class is already halfway through."

Emily followed Elizabeth in her car and managed to hold herself together until they walked into the house.

"Emily…" Elizabeth waited for her at the front door "I am very proud of you."

Emily smiled and for the first time in a long time she felt the praise was deserved "Thanks Mom."

The next day at school rumours were flying… students had seen the Headmaster and Elizabeth looking through Emily's locker and car everyone was asking Calandra and Melissa what had happened but they didn't know either so could only shrug.

As Emily walked into home room Calandra grabbed her by the elbow and dragged her to their desks.

"Ti éplixe chthes kai giatí den apantísate sto tiléfono chthes to vrády?" ( _What the fuck happened yesterday and why didn't you answer the phone last night?_ )

"I Loúka égine ... eípe ston diefthyntí óti prospáthisa na poulíso tin kokaḯni tis" ( _Luca happened... she told the headmaster I tried to sell her cocaine_ )

"Skýla" ( _Bitch_ )

"Nai, tin kleísame arketá sklirá. Ímoun me énan dáskalo ótan ypotíthetai óti synévi kai tous áfisa na psáxoun to ntoulápi kai to aftokínitó mou" ( _Yeah, we shut her down pretty hard. I was with a teacher when it supposedly happened and I let them search my locker and car._ )

"Exigeí giatí den ítheles na milíseis..." ( _Explains why you didn't want to talk…_ )

The rest of the day was the same but Emily refused to give any details. Luca wasn't at school.

The rest of the week was relatively normal, Luca kept her head down and didn't try anything. Emily kept quiet about the whole incident, only telling Calandra and Melissa what happened. The rest of the school could only guess.

At the football game on Friday night Emily was chatting with Melissa and Tanya while they lined up for hot Chocolate… the temperature had dropped slightly and the teens were craving a hot drink while they made plans to go out for dinner the following Saturday night to celebrate Emily's 18th birthday.

Fleur was sitting on Emily's hip entertaining the freshmen and her mother behind them.

Emily would never be able to tell anyone exactly what caught her attention and when relating the story all she could remember was the flash of white Styrofoam and bringing her free arm up so the cup wouldn't hit the back of Fleur's head.

Then pain in her arm and hand and the screaming… a sound she'd never heard come from her daughter and a sound she never wanted to hear again.

Looking down she saw Fleur had a clear liquid soaking her neck and back where Emily's hands and arm hadn't covered.

She found out later the cup was full of boiling water.

The freshman's mother pushed Tania out of the way as a crowd gathered, drawn by Fleur's pain filled screams and quickly looks the toddler over, running a gentle finger over the still cooling liquid.

"It's water but it looks like it was close to boiling. I'd take her down to emergency just in case…" the redhead could see Emily was close to shock. "Hey" Emily pulled her focus off trying to calm Fleur "can you drive?"

"Yeah…" Emily nodded.

"Em, your hand…" Melissa gasped, Emily's right hand had taken the brunt of it, bright red and already blistering in places.

"Get our bags and meet us at Em's car, I'll drive "Melissa pushed Tania towards the bleachers as someone handed her a bottle of water.

"It's ok baby…" Emily cooed shakily at a still screaming Fleur as she pulled the cloth she always carried when out with Fleur and soaked it in the cool water. Crouching down Emily tried to put the toddler on her feet so she could strip her top off but Fleur lifted her legs and clung to Emily's neck as hard as she could. Giving up Emily shoved the cold cloth underneath the shirt and stood back up.

Melissa soaked a handful of paper towel and wrapped it around Emily's burnt hand and started to pull her through the crowd.

Emily never saw Luca being dragged off by the cheer leading coach who had seen the whole thing.

They reached Emily's car at the same time as Calandra, Tania and Nicole. Refusing to go into her baby seat Fleur continued to scream, so Emily got into the back seat with the toddler in her lap and wrapped the seat-belt around both of them just as Mrs. Calhoun caught up to them.

Snatching the keys off Melissa she instructed the girls to call the Prentiss' to meet them at GUH. Calandra slid in the back with Emily and Fleur who was still screaming.

To Emily the drive took forever...

She slid out of the car and as she walked through the doors she stopped dead... except for her regular checkups and vaccinations they'd never had to take Fleur to the Doctor. She got the sniffles occasionally but other than that she was healthy, Emily didn't actually know what to do.

The charge nurse hearing the screaming child came over to check on them, fortunately Maria had tossed the keys to Calandra to park the car and come in with Emily and explained that someone had thrown boiling water at them at school.

"Parent or guardian?"

"Someone is calling Emily's parents, they should be here soon"

The nurse lifted the back of Fleur shirt and hissed as she saw the red raw skin underneath and the little girl's crying went up in volume at the touch.

Ushering them through the doors the Nurse sat them down on the gurney and called one of the Doctor's over.

"We need to get a look at her back, this isn't going to be pleasant, you need to hold her tight and don't let her wiggle." She warned Emily,

Slowly the Doctor and the Nurse cut away Fleur's shirt being as gentle as they could, Maria had stepped away to give the charge nurse as much detail as she could.

Emily is 17 and Fleur would be two in February.

She assumed they had insurance, Elizabeth worked for the State Department.

As far as she knew neither had any allergies.

The baby was Emily's but her parents were her legal guardians.

They were halfway through the Doctor asking Emily questions about Fleur's health when she saw the wet paper towel wrapped around Emily's hand and the blisters on the other.

"You were holding her?"

"Yeah… I saw the cup… I thought it was empty."

"I'm guessing you're not going to let us check you out until she's finished?" Dr Calder smiled gently she seemed like a tough kid.

"You guess correctly." Emily pressed a kiss to Fleur's sweaty temple.

"Ok, how far up your arm does it hurt?"

"The back of my left and up the wrist a little… my right fingertips to elbow."

Fleur seemed to be running out of steam, still whimpering and whining at every touch she was no long holding her body so stiffly and was slumping heaving against Emily, little hands gripping Emily's shirt as tightly as she could.

She was fortunate the material of her shirt hadn't fused to the skin.

"Are you going to cry if I cut away your sleeves while I'm here? " Vanessa Calder was always surprised when teenage girls would rather be in pain than have their clothes ruined.

"Cut away…" Emily shrugged slightly, it was just a cheap cotton 3/4 sleeve… easily replaced… then winced when the Doctor pulled at the fabric of her shirt "She's never been hurt like this before… a couple of bumps and bruises especially when she first started walking but nothing…"

"Nothing like this… she doesn't know how to deal with pain like this because she's never experienced it?"

"Yeah"

Maria stood nearby watching the entry door for Elizabeth and Jules, impressed by how easily the Doctor engaged Emily.

She swallowed hard when the full extent of the damage was revealed.

Emily had definitely received the worst of it. There were a few bad patches that would be painful for a while but Fleur had been protected by her heavier shirt and Emily.

They had numbed Fleur's back were just starting to irrigate the burns Jules strode in, walking straight up to Emily gasping at the damage to his daughter and granddaughter.

"Je suis ici mes filles" ( _I'm here my girls_ ) he kissed Emily's temple and ran a gentle finger under Fleur's chin.

"Daddy…" Emily whispered the iron control she'd had shattering now her father was here to take over. "Elle a crié si fort et n'arrêterait pas…" ( _She screamed so loudly and wouldn't stop…_ )

"Je sais, elle oubliera avant que tu ne le fasses et elle ira bien" ( _I know, she'll forget before you ever do and she'll be ok_ )

"Where's Mom?" Emily switched back over to English at the looks they were getting.

"She was at an event at Gaylord National Resort Convention Center… she is on her way."

Turning to the Doctor he quickly introduced himself.

"Fleur will be fine, all first degree scalding's I doubt they'll even scar… we'll dress them and give you a script for antibiotics and a numbing cream."

"And Emily?"

"With the little miss Koala bearing on Mommy I haven't been able to get a good look. What are the chances we can separate them now you're here?"

Leaning down Jules cupped Fleur's tear stained face "Fleur viendras-tu à Papa?" (Fleur will you come to Papa?)

"No…" Emily winced as Fleur burrowed in tighter and turned her face into Emily's chest.

"Dad, if you can help me sit back she'll fall asleep while the Doctor finishes her back…. she's exhausted. Once she's asleep you can take her."

Once Emily was lying back Doctor Calder continued cleaning her back off, a staff member appeared with forms to fill out.

By the time the paperwork was done and Fleur's back was dressed both the girls were fast asleep, as gently as he could Jules lifted the toddler off Emily's chest and sat down with her against his own.

There was a tense moment when Fleur whined and stirred but she quickly settled back down.

Emily roused herself enough to confirm Fleur's location before dropping back off while her arms were treated.

When Elizabeth walked in she found Emily's friends in the waiting room with Headmaster Lee.

She smiled at the girls and glared at the Headmaster "We'll talk once I've checked on the girls" she ground out.

In one of the treatment rooms she found Fleur sound asleep on Jules chest, one of his arms under her diaper clad bottom. His other was stretched out to rest on the pillow next to Emily's head his large hand cradling it, fingers gently playing with the dark hair. Her jaw clenched in anger at the sight of the white dressings stretched across the tiny back.

Jules quickly caught her up... both were fine, the doctor wanted the monitor them for a few hours and only time would tell how bad the scarring on Emily's hands would be.

Striding back out to the waiting room Elizabeth crooked an imperious finger at The Headmaster.

"What happened?"

"It appears another student threw a cup of boiling water at Emily while she was holding Fleur." Elizabeth's nostrils flared...

"And was this a deliberate attack or an accident?"

"We're still investigating the incident, I'm not going to comment on the intentions of anyone involved until it's completed." The look on Elizabeth's face as she processed the information terrified him.

"Investigate fast Headmaster as Emily will not be returning to class until it is resolved and if it is not resolved to my satisfaction she will not be returning to the school."

Peter could still remember her threat from the year before _'I've already destroyed the reputation of one school.'_

Elizabeth turned on her heel and stalked over to where Calandra, Melissa, Nicole and Tania were waiting for news.

"Girls, Emily and Fleur will be fine but we're going to be here for hours. Head home and give Emily a call tomorrow afternoon, if she's up to it you can all come over then."

She waited until the girls had all left, before heading back inside.

The three of them were all still in the exact same positions as when she'd left.

"Ok…" Doctor Calder finishes dressing Emily's left hand "Her right hand got the worst of it, is she a lefty or a righty?"

"She's right handed" Elizabeth answers.

"The next couple of weeks are going to be tough, the burns on her left hand are minimal a couple of days and it'll be fine to use again and fully healed around the same time as Fleur's back. She said she brought her right hand up to cover Fleur's head so it got the worst of it. If she hadn't you'd be in the burn unit with Fleur right now, one of our burn specialists is going to come down and check them out. I doubt he'll want to admit Fleur but he might want to keep Emily overnight to keep an eye out for infection."

In the corner Maria stood forgotten. When Doctor Calder left to check on their other patients she stepped forward.

"I'm so sorry… I tried to keep close by but one of the parents wanted to talk."

"You really care about them don't you?" Elizabeth studied the teacher.

"You try not to have favourites but some kids… they make an impact. When she first started I thought quiet kid, smart, she'll coast through no problems but then I got to know her. She's not just smart but she's funny and kind and not jaded by everything that happened in Rome and I want to see what she does, cause it's going to be amazing." Maria had seen a few truly amazing students go through and was always delighted when she heard what they were doing with their lives. "Fleur's diaper bag is in the car, I'll go and get it for you."

The burn specialist did admit Emily overnight and agreed with Doctor Calder that Fleur would be fine.

Jules took Fleur home not long after midnight while Elizabeth stayed with Emily.

Neither slept well, Fleur woke as Jules was pulling her out of the car and cried for Emily the rest of the night.

Thanks to the painkillers Emily slept through the night, Elizabeth dozed but was woken every time a nurse came in to check on Emily.

It was close to lunch time the next day when they finally got home, Emily's friends had spent the day at Melissa's fielding phone calls from students they were all friendly with. Emily was fine and so was Fleur... it was because of these calls they found out what had happened.

Luca had received an in school suspension for her accusations earlier in the week. Part of her punishment had been to help on the hot drink stall and when she had seen Emily waiting in line... not caring who saw or who got caught in the crossfire she'd taken freshly boiled water from the urn and thrown it.

Emily slept the rest of Saturday and most of Sunday away on the couch in the den where Fleur could play and her parents could keep an eye on them both.

Monday afternoon Headmaster Lee called and asked for a conference the next morning but only if Emily was up for it.

They'd spoken to the student involved and a number of people who witnessed the incident but wanted a statement from Emily. Having been clingy since it happened Fleur wrapped herself around Emily when she said goodbye and refused to let go.

"No, you're staying with Papa" Emily tried to console the distraught toddler.

"Go with Mommy..." she insisted arms and legs wrapped around Emily, the painkillers helped but with her right hand wrapped the way it was she couldn't maneuver the little girl out of her arms so looked pleadingly at her father for help.

Jules reached out and had barely slipped his hands under Fleur's armpits when a high pitched shriek cut through the air causing all three of them to wince and her parents to step back.

"So she's going with us?" Emily asks her mother.

"Might be best..." Elizabeth stares at the toddler, she could say no to Emily… so why couldn't she say no to Fleur? She was a miniaturised version of Emily after all...

"Ok Fleur, this time you can come with Mommy, but next time you stay with Maman or Papa" It was hard to believe her parents were such pushovers when it came to Fleur. Neither of them could say no to her, and Emily was dreading the first time she had to discipline her daughter and hoped her father was not in the house when it happened. She could see Fleur running up to Jules tears pooling in big brown eyes, bottom lip poking out as little arms went up into the air for a hug and cries of 'Papa, Papa... Mommy's being mean'. Jules would crumple into a puddle of goo and promise Fleur that Papa would make it better.

"Dad, promise me when she's 15 and she call's you to complain about me not buying her the latest whatever you can be strong and say no?" Emily managed to shift Fleur onto her left hip before turning on her heal to go out to the car.

"I promise nothing..." Jules scowled "À quand remonte la dernière fois que ton papa t'a dit non?" ( _When was the last time your Papa said no to you?_ ) He muttered at Emily's back as she walked away. Hearing every word Elizabeth snorted and picked up the keys.

"Ahhh la malédiction des filles et petites-filles" ( _Ahh the curse of daughters and granddaughters_ ) she threw over shoulder as she followed Emily out the front door. She and Fleur had always been the disciplinarians… neither Andre nor Jules had been able to deny Emily much of anything and it looked like that was passing on to Fleur as well.

Jules pulled the door closed behind him mumbling about his real curse being the smart arse brunettes he lived with.

END CHAPTER 6


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

AN: This chapter get's pretty heavy. Discussions around miscarriage and abortion are included.

When they arrived at the school they were ushered straight into the Headmasters office, Elizabeth and Jules sat in the background silently as Emily recounted Friday night.

She still had no idea exactly what had happened.

"Melissa, Tania and I were waiting in line… we were talking about the musical, I wanted to audition but…" her eyes dart downward at Fleur and then she winces as she remembers her parents are in the room. She refuses to complain about missing out on anything in front of them "I don't know why but I turned my head and saw the cup heading for Fleur so I blocked it and then Fleur was screaming and… it hurt so much but she was screaming…." the pain filled screeching would be with her for a long time.

The Headmaster asked a few more questions around how they were healing and when she would be returning to class. 'When my Doctor and parents say it's ok'. Despite her private protests Emily had deferred to her Mother's declaration that she wouldn't be returning to school until Elizabeth was satisfied with the results of their investigation.

Accepting the folder full of assignments for her to work on at home Emily stepped out of the room and waited as her parents spoke with the Headmaster. Letting Fleur slide down her body to the ground Emily followed the toddler as she explored the outer office using her legs to stop her from getting into places she shouldn't.

Out of the corner of her eye Emily saw Mrs. Lamb pull out a sucker and held out of Fleur's sight but in Emily's who paused to glance at the clock, lunch was still a couple of hours away and the sugar crash should hit just in time for her nap so she nodded and smiled her thanks at the older woman.

"Fleur?" she called. Tiny (and slightly uneven) pig tails bounced as her head whipped round to see who had called her name. Seeing the treat Fleur's eyes went wide and her left hand automatically reached out towards it before the toddler caught on that she didn't know this person. She frowned in confusion and considered what to do. Her head turned as she looked between Emily and Mrs. Lamb unsure.

"Aller de l'avant" ( _Go ahead_ ) she encouraged and nodded towards Mrs. Lamb.

Still a little unsure Fleur headed towards the desk but stopped when she was just out of reach, studying the older woman. After a few moments whatever toddler logic she was using told her it was definitely ok and pushed her forward the last few steps until she was standing right next to Mrs. Lamb.

"Pease… fank you…" Fleur didn't really understand the meaning behind the words but knew her mother praised her when they were said so she figured this was the right time to say it, this was reinforced when Mrs. Lamb unwrapped the sucker and handed it over.

"You know something Miss Prentiss… I've worked in schools for nearly 30 years, seen a lot of Mom's… young, old, rich and poor and I have to say you're doing pretty good with this little one."

The pinnacle of the sugar high hits just as they get home so Emily takes Fleur straight out into the backyard to run around while it wears off. Her parents hadn't told her what had been discussed after she left the room and she was itching to find out. She didn't need to wait long as both her parents soon joined them outside with lunch.

"Luca Moretti was expelled yesterday." Her father doesn't beat around the bush "She admitted it was in retaliation for you 'not knowing your place' and there were enough witnesses that they only needed your statement for forms sake."

"The question now is do you want us to find out if she is still covered by her father's diplomatic immunity? If she is over 18 we may be able to have her charged with assault." Elizabeth and Jules had thought about not giving Emily a choice on this but in less than a week she would be legally able to make the decision herself, better for her to be involved than not.

Emily's appetite fled, she'd convinced herself that a couple of the other students had been fooling around and they'd been caught in it.

"Did she even care that I had Fleur…" She murmurs not really expecting her parents to be able to answer… but she knew… Luca didn't care, Luca wanted to hurt Emily and Fleur was in the way.

"If it was just me I'd say don't bother but… we could still be sitting in that hospital in the burn unit with Fleur and that I can't forgive."

Elizabeth nodded and went back into the house to make a few phone calls.

Fleur finally noticed the food laid out on the table and ran up to Emily who absently handed over a sandwich quarter for the toddler who took a single bite before pushing it back into Emily's hand. Jules watched her carefully as her thoughts flittered back and forth between the past and the present.

"Talk to me ma belle fille" ( _my beautiful girl_ ) he leaned back in his chair and waited.

"I just..." she huffed and dropped back into silence as she tried to sort the words out in her head. "I don't understand... any of it... why do people do that to each other. It doesn't make sense..."

"And you never will understand it, you are not like them. Luca believes if she wants something she can take it and there will be no consequences and she does not care if she hurts someone as long as she gets her way. You feel hurt and sadness and joy and love and when someone you love is joyful you are happy with them and when they are hurting you hurt too, Luca will never truly understand these things.."

Emily nodded, trying to wrap her head around what her father was saying.

* * *

Over the next week she got very good at writing legibly with her left hand. Her parents offered to find someone to write out the work for her but she stubbornly refused and spent hours writing and re-writing her school work. At her request they delayed the dinner out for her 18th birthday until the end of the month.

Her Mother confirmed that Luca was only 17 and her parents had sent her back to Rome the same night she'd been expelled.

As her father predicted Fleur quickly forgot the whole thing and turned back into the boisterous toddler she'd been before.

It was during the two weeks Emily spent at home that she decided to apply for Yale under early action. It was her first choice of college and if she could get a decision before Christmas then the she would be able to focus wholly on her studies for the last few months of senior year.

She'd had her applications ready since the end of summer, it had just been a matter of whether she wanted to lock herself into early action or not.

Georgetown was so tempting, but Yale just felt right.

She also knew that college was the first step to full independence for herself and Fleur. Going to Yale meant they would be on their own for the first time, even if her parents were supporting them financially they wouldn't be there physically.

It was a scary prospect, she would essentially be living without backup.

On the first of November Jules, Emily and Fleur drove to New Haven to hand in her application in person. It made for an incredibly long day but alleviated the stress of wondering if the US Postal service would get it there or not.

They take an hour and have lunch on campus before heading into town to grab a handful of listings at a local real estate agent to get an idea of what off campus accommodation was available.

Assuming she was accepted the plan was to return during spring break to start the process of purchasing a flat for the two of them.

As November gives way to December Emily surprises her parents by relaxing, when questioned by her parents she smiles and shrugs. She's done everything she can and it's now in the hands of the admissions department. Her applications for her 2nd through 5th choices have been sent in standard admissions and she's content with her choices.

5 Day's before Christmas a letter bearing Yale's seal appears, suddenly overcome with trepidation Emily seats herself on the stairs staring at the front door waiting for her parents to get home. Within moments of each other both Jules' and Elizabeth's cars pull into the driveway, from their place on the second step Emily and Fleur watch the front door with equal anticipation. Frowning at the sight of her daughter and granddaughter just sitting there waiting Elizabeth opens her mouth to ask what is happening but doesn't get a chance before Emily propels herself into a standing position and shoves the envelope at her mother.

"You open it" Emily demands before pushing herself up to pace. Fleur watches her mothers completely befuddled by the agitated movements.

Cocking an eyebrow Elizabeth waits a beat for Jules to enter the room before opening the envelope. Pulling the letter out she scanned the letter quickly as Jules read over her shoulder both of their faces breaking out in simultaneous grins.

"You're in!" Elizabeth exclaimed dropping the letter as Emily threw herself at them.

Like the previous year Elizabeth and Jules open the house for various friends, co-workers and students who have no where else to go for Christmas. Fleur spends the day trailing after Emily unsure of all the strangers who had invaded her house.

Unlike the previous year the toddler has a good understanding of the concept of gift giving and receiving and the delight on her face is infectious as the four of them sat around the tree early on Christmas morning, Fleur bouncing between her mother and grandparents 'helping' each of them to tear the paper off their gifts.

* * *

Late one evening in early January Emily finally worked up the courage to broach a topic with Elizabeth that had been nagging at her for several months.

Unsure of the reaction she'd get Emily beckoned her mother into her bedroom when Elizabeth stuck her head in to say goodnight.

"I want you to look at some research I've done..." she held out a stack of papers with a shaking hand. The top sheet of paper was a hand written list of pro's and con's Emily had been working on for weeks.

One of the first things Elizabeth had done when Jules, Emily and Fleur had arrived from France was take Emily down to their Doctor and get her put on the pill. Flicking quickly through the stack of leaflets and information packs she took in the information Emily presented her with.

The pill compared to copper-T compared to progestasert.

"Progestersert has a lower failure rate and less side effects than either of the others... Between Fleur and class I'm not going to be dating but..."

"Getting the IUD means you don't need to remember to take a pill every day and you're still completely covered just in case" Elizabeth finished, a little thrown by her daughters adamant declaration that she won't date.

"Yeah..." her gaze drifted away from Elizabeth "I love Fleur but there is no way she's getting a sibling for at least a decade."

Elizabeth's hum was non-committal as she continued to read over Emily's pro/con list.

"Let me read all this over then we'll book in to see the Doctor to discuss your options."

As she stood to leave Elizabeth studied Emily for a moment, the maturity in her decision making over the last two years had amazed them. Before Rome there had been a brash naïveté that combined with her stubbornness and intelligence had worried them simply because Emily threw herself into everything with little thought on the possible consequences. Since having Fleur she had become quite the opposite to the point that Elizabeth now worried she was missing out on living because she was too cautious.

Sliding onto the bed next to her Elizabeth wrapped her arms around Emily's shoulders and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"Did I ever tell you why you're an only child?" Elizabeth murmured.

"No..." Emily remembered asking for a sister when she was about 6, her father had pulled her into his arms and told her she was everything they needed then distracted her with ice-cream.

"We met our Freshman year at Brown... it was not love at first sight. I was studying political science your father linguistics, we married 3 weeks after graduation. The first two years we were apart more than we were together. He was getting his masters at MIT and I was at the FSI, my first assignment was New York and then he got a job at Princeton and things were better, we had a house in Piscataway. We never actively prevented a pregnancy..." she felt Emily shudder slightly at the idea of her parents having sex "it wasn't until my mother asked when we were having children on our third anniversary that we began to question why I hadn't gotten pregnant yet. We tried not to worry about it, I was happy working at the UN and your father enjoyed Princeton... we decided to just leave things as they were... if I got pregnant great and if I didn't... it wasn't meant to be." Elizabeth felt a lump rising in her throat, swallowing past it she continued.

"It was another year before you came along... you were tiny, and perfect and everything we ever wanted. Your father spent hours researching names, wanting the perfect one for you. He would come home with lists of names, their meaning and history but we never managed to chose until you were born. I chose Emily and he chose Caroline... striving and strong... I stayed home with you until you were one and when I went back to work I was assigned to the State Department here in DC. We bought this house with my inheritance from my parents, your Father lectured at Georgetown... just before your second birthday I had a miscarriage..." Emily sat upright and turned to look at her mother shocked at the revelation, she didn't get a chance to say anything as Elizabeth pulled her back down... she wasn't sure if she could look at Emily while relating the rest.

"Over the next 3 years I lost two more babies and I remember the night of your 5th birthday sitting in our flat in Madrid watching you sleep thinking why keep trying when we already had perfection... I told your father no more babies that night. I kept working, your father started on his PHD and you started school. We became happy..."

Emily couldn't work out how to respond to what her mother was sharing with her, she couldn't even understand why Elizabeth was telling her all this.

"I know when you get to college your focus will be on studying and Fleur." Elizabeth's voice dropped down into a whisper "but please don't forget to live... I did for a while... when I had that third miscarriage I threw all my focus on you... I was terrified to let you out of my sight and nothing but you was important... it took time but I learned to let go, and then as you got older and more independent I let too much go and you were there but you were gone and I was gone and your father was gone... I think... I forgot that I didn't need to be a politician with you, you didn't need a favour or access or information. You needed me to just be there and be mom and I forgot how to see and hear you as just you... so you stopped speaking..."

Finally understanding what her mother was trying to say Emily turned slightly to wrap her self around her mother and whispered back.

"I promise"

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes and just as Elizabeth was considering getting up Emily spoke.

"Some times I wonder what would have happened if I'd walked the other way in the clinic..."

Emily can still remember it as though is was yesterday... the curve of the plastic chairs, the acidic smell of antiseptic, the cold of the air, Matthew's clammy hand gripping her own, the panicking thud of her heart.

The undeniable knowledge that _this_ was her only option.

Wanting her Mom but believing she couldn't have her.

Wanting to be anywhere but in _that_ chair, in _that_ clinic.

Hearing her name called through the thundering in her ears... standing... the world wavering in front of her eyes as her stomach rolled.

The brief notion of it being the baby consciously screaming for her to not do this.

Resolve solidifying in her mind, this was the only way, her only choice.

One step forward, Matthew by her side and the nurse looking at her with what she thought was a combination of pity and disgust. Her knees locking and her resolve abandoning her, before she can process what she's doing she's let go of Matthew's hand and is running for the door, out onto the street, the hot summer sun beating down on her as she runs until she falls to her knees and throws up in some poor strangers rose bush. _'I have to but I can't'_

"I don't" Elizabeth's voice was rough and trembling fingers lightly running along the still angry burn scars of Emily's right hand "we were holding onto you by a fraying thread and without Fleur... she bound us back together... gave us a reason to talk and to listen again. I can see it... 20 years later unable to communicate with each other... existing around each other but never together."

"I was so tired and scared" Emily admitted "I wanted you to come sweeping in and fix everything like you had when I was younger but every time I worked up the courage the phone rang or there was a knock at the door. You'd go answer it and there was a little voice in my head saying _'see... see... her job is what matters, not you'_."

"For a while it was and then you said you miss me… I knew then my career had to wait a few years while I focused on you. Without Fleur we wouldn't be sitting here right now..."

* * *

A week after Fleur's second birthday Maria Calhoun knocked on the door of the run down house in South East DC. She'd spent months helping Talia prep her application for an academic scholarship and now it had been approved and accepted she'd pulled out. Maria wanted to know why.

When they'd last spoken the 16 year old had been almost vibrating in excitement at the possibility of attending Georgetown Day.

When the door opened Maria knew exactly what had changed.

The next day as Emily was leaving Maria's AP Algebra class Maria called her over.

"Are you busy this afternoon?"

"Homework and Fleur" the 18 year old smiled.

"I need you and Fleur to help me with something. Can you meet me here at 4:30?" Maria passed a piece of paper over. Emily read, then re-read the address in Anacostia one eyebrow raising.

"I've been working with a student from Anacostia High to get her over here on scholarship, she's a math whiz. Just as smart as you but with numbers. She was accepted on a full academic scholarship for Junior and senior years and when I called her Mom... I was told Talia might not be attending after all."

"She's pregnant isn't she?"

"Yeah... I want her to meet the salutatorian who's going to Yale with a two year old."

Emily sighed "This is her home address right?" Maria nodded "you know my situation is totally different to hers. I've never had to worry about child care or food and clothes for us... We've been living off Mom's pay and benefits my whole life so Dad's got all of his guest lecture fee's saved up... my college fund is huge and they're buying a flat for us to live in off campus next year, on top of that I've got a trust fund from my mother's father that I get access to when I finish my first year of college, it's not huge but it's enough to get Fleur and I set up when I graduate."

Maria had already planned for this response "I'm working on the rest... I contacted a friend of a friend in DCCS and there's a couple of child care centers that reserve free spots for teen mom's as long as they're attending school which will take care of the biggest most immediate issue, we'll work out the rest. You just need to show her it's possible with support."

Emily chewed on her lip thoughtfully "Can we go together? I'm really not comfortable driving to Anacostia by myself."

"I'll be at your place at 4."

When Maria pulled up to the Prentiss house at 4 that afternoon Emily and Elizabeth are chasing Fleur around the front yard, the toddler giggling happily. Leaving her girls to play a little bit longer Elizabeth smiled as she approached Maria.

"Emily told me what you're doing. Would it be ok if I came too?"

The four of them pile into Elizabeth's car and make the 30 minute drive from Spring Valley to Anacostia.

Talia's mom is the one to answer the door and she looks at the four of them, eyes widening slightly at the three dark eyed brunettes Maria had brought with her.

Beckoning Emily forward Maria introduced them "This is Emily, she's one of my AP Algebra students. Her Mom Elizabeth and her daughter Fleur. Emily's our salutatorian and off to Yale in the fall."

Half an hour later Emily, Fleur and Talia were sitting on the living room floor, the teens entertaining the two year old while the adults watched from the kitchen.

"It's hard" Elizabeth admitted "seeing them so young and so old at the same time and it takes commitment from everyone. Emily only goes out to places she can take Fleur, she doesn't go to parties, to the movies, no long afternoons wasting time at the mall or at a friends house. She'll take Fleur to some of the home games or a friends house for a movie night but they're always home by 9:30. She get's as much of her homework done during study periods as she can and as soon as Fleur is in bed she's back to her school work."

Maria had to hold back a smile as Emily gave Talia a very similar speech.

* * *

3 weeks later Emily's friends started to receive their college acceptance letters.

Melissa was off to Penn State, Tania North Western, Nicole much to her east coast blue blooded parents chagrin was off to UCLA. After her parents refused to pay for Calandra to do her undergrad in the US she had been accepted to Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Trent who had become a close friend had received his baseball scholarship and was joining Emily at Yale.

* * *

"Emily Caroline Prentiss..."

As she walked across the stage her eyes took in the crowd, in the back row right where they said they'd be were her parents. Fleur standing on her grandfather's lap, little hands clapping along with everyone else.

They had prepared for Emily and Fleur's move to New Haven as much as possible and the current plan was to have them moved in by the second week of August

They had called Max Le Bijou months before to try and get word up to Andre and let him know Emily and Fleur would be coming to the chateau for 3 weeks in July.

The day they arrived in Les Viollins Valerie and Max along with Emily's cousin Dax greeted the girls with bear hugs and gushing over how much Fleur had grown.

8 years older than Emily, Dax and his wife had already been planning to make the trek to the cabin near Pointe de Verdonne. Both teachers in Lyon, Dax and Odette were on summer break and had eagerly included Emily and Fleur in their plans to visit their grandfather.

With potty training successfully completed earlier in the year the amount of gear required to travel with Fleur had been cut in half making it easier to get their supplies into two hiking packs.

Just before dawn the day after arriving in France the four of them set out, Dax and Odette carrying their gear, Fleur strapped comfortably to Emily's back.

Throughout the two day trek the three adults traded off the packs with either carrying or chasing Fleur.

"We've been talking about starting a family" Odette admitted quietly to Emily as the two of them watched Dax chatter away to an enthralled Fleur.

"Seeing him with Fleur... it will be sooner rather than later."

Mid afternoon on their third day in France a tiny cabin came into view, the last time they'd been here together was the summer Emily was 8 and Dax 14. Andre and Fleur had happily had all 6 of their grandchildren for a month that summer. Andre had taken Dax, his sister Camille, Emily and Lisette's oldest Lucien up to the cabin for two of those weeks allowing the four of them to run completely wild over the mountain. Emily could still remember being wedged between Dax and Camille as they lay under blankets listening to her Papa make up stories about how the stars got their names.

With Fleur safely asleep on Odette's back Emily grinned at her cousin

"Catch me Dax!" she shouted before taking off at a jog.

Grinning Dax didn't hesitate as he took off after her the two of them running the last 200 meters to the cabin.

As their laughter echoed over the mountain the door swung open and Andre stepped out.

It was easy to loose track of the day's up here, he'd known they were coming but hadn't really known when.

Seeing Dax and Emily running towards him Andre smiled for the first time since his wife died.

"Look Papa..." Emily pulled out her acceptance letter to Yale out along with a picture of her and her friends at graduation "I'm keeping my promise... I finished high school and I'm going to college"

END CHAPTER 7


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

After 3 weeks in the Alps Emily and Fleur flew back to DC and immediately finished packing in preparation for their move to New Haven. The plan was to be completely moved by the second week of August giving them 3 weeks to adjust to living alone before classes started up.

The first two nights Jules and Elizabeth stayed on the fold out couch... the next three at a hotel 10 minutes from Emily's flat in East Rock.

If asked Emily would say her parents were more anxious about the separation than she was.

She knew that they would be happier if she was at Georgetown, still at the house in Spring Valley and close to friends who could help her out once Elizabeth went back on assignment but Emily wanted to start standing on her own. It was a completely new way of living for them and both Emily and Fleur struggled with not having Elizabeth and Jules with them.

Once her parents were back in DC Emily and Fleur settled into life by themselves quickly, the weeks leading up to the start of classes were relaxed and calm. They spent their day's getting to know the neighbourhood, finding the best parks, the best farmers markets, working out if the bank was in walking distance.

Two blocks from the apartment Emily found a beautiful little park that had play equipment, luscious grass and big shady trees. Even in the middle of winter this would be a fantastic place to play. Every time she took Fleur down there it was full of kids playing and laughing.

Orientation week was a whirlwind of schedule maneuvering and testing the timing for getting from their apartment to the campus day care to class and back again.

Classes started and the first couple of weeks were fine… and then the assignments started.

By her birthday exhaustion had set in, Fleur had initially settled into the day care happily but was becoming increasingly clingy which only got worse when Elizabeth and Jules left after visiting for Emily's birthday.

* * *

Mike Aitkins might just be in love... or lust... he didn't know her name yet but the brunette in his World History class had an absolutely wicked sense of humour that made him want to giggle like a 10 year old.

She also had legs that went on forever...

He'd tried to speak with her after class the last few days but he never managed to get over to her before she disappeared.

She was always one of the last in and first out... so instead he waited until she arrived and sat down and took the seat next to her.

Even then he couldn't get more than polite smiles and short, clipped answers with her taking off the second the lecture ended.

By the time Halloween rolled around he had a first name... Emily. He had also managed to find out her class schedule was packed out from morning through to mid-afternoon and it wasn't uncommon to see her running from class to class.

She didn't join any study groups and was never seen on campus before her first class, if she stayed on campus after her last class she was in the library working away like her life depended on it.

As far as Mike had been able to tell only one of the freshman baseball players seemed to be on friendly terms with her.

It didn't mean he was going to stop trying though.

* * *

"I'm really struggling Dad..." Emily stared out the window at the sleet she'd just managed to beat to Washington. Jules studied his daughter carefully, she had lost weight and the dark circles under her eyes stood starkly out from her paler than normal complexion.

"What with?" Jules had seen it at her birthday and heard it every time they talked, Emily was tired and stressing about something. He'd considered driving up to New Haven to spend a weekend with them in late November but Emily wouldn't be forced to admit what was wrong. She would need to come to them on her own.

"Everything... I can't keep up with the course work and assignments. Getting to classes and Fleur to day care is fine it's all the extra I need to do after class. I'm leaving her at the centre for longer and longer each day so I can get it all done and it's not fair on her... even then I have to keep working after she's in bed... some nights I'll be up until 2 or 3 in the morning then Fleur gets up at 6."

He knew this was coming. He and Elizabeth had predicted that she wouldn't be able to keep up with a full course load. He thought she'd struggle through silently until things got bad enough for them to need to intervene.

"I had a meeting with the Dean last week and explained what's going on he's agreed to let me drop down to a half load next semester to give me some breathing room and then reassess at the beginning of next year."

"I think..." Jules rubbed Emily's shoulder "you are being very sensible." Emily's head whipped around in shock. She hadn't expected such easy acceptance from her father, her education had been central to every decision they had made regarding Fleur.

 _"Can you do it? Finish school with a baby... go to college with a two year old?"_

"Your mother and I knew that this might happen and if it takes you a little longer to graduate so be it." Her eyes dropped and he regretted the way they pushed Emily on academics it seemed that once again she took their desire for her to reach her full potential as a requirement for perfection... maybe he needed to be a little less subtle. "Emily... look at me..." he lifted her chin gently "We want you to be successful and we want you get a good education but not at the cost of your health or your relationship with Fleur. It's ok to slow down as long as you don't give up."

Emily nodded absently rolling her fathers words around in her head.

"There's this guy in my world history class... he keeps trying to ask me out and I really want to say yes but I don't want to leave Fleur with a sitter when she already spends so much time in day care."

"Does he know about Fleur?" Jules had been mentally preparing himself for when Emily started dating.

"Maybe" Emily's face screwed up as she thought back through the last few months "I've never specifically told anyone but I've never hidden her either."

"Then tell him the truth. He might accept it he might not, either way you loose nothing."

* * *

When Emily arrived at her first world history lecture of the new year, Mike was sitting in his usual spot in the back row. Right next to where she sat every class.

At the end of class Emily slipped him a note as she stood up to leave.

 _'My daughter turns 3 next month, she spends too much time in day care and I don't want to leave her with a sitter to go on a date.'_

He watched her retreating back contemplating what he had just learned about the hot brunette he had been lusting after. He wondered if he was reading into her note correctly.

Date me, date my daughter.

Mike backed off after that, he didn't want to judge her but a kid was a level of commitment he didn't want to be involved in.

Emily shrugged and moved on, she had more important things to worry about than horny freshman.

With only a half load of courses to worry about life got much easier for Emily and Fleur. Her grades picked up and instead of averaging 3 or 4 hours sleep a night Emily was getting in a good 6 to 8. Fleur was happier and less clingy, she decided to spend Spring Break in New Haven their days taken up by picnics in East Rock Park and Quinnipiac River Marsh Wildlife Area and a day down in Coney Island.

Early in June her mother called with the news that she'd been nominated as the new Ambassador to the Ukraine and they were expecting the confirmation to come through by the time she and Fleur returned from visiting her Papa in France.

Emily didn't let it show but the idea of her parents leaving the US scared her. In the grand scheme of things a 6 hour drive wasn't all that far away but a trans-Atlantic flight was a whole different story. Even though she and Fleur had been living independently for nearly a year in an emergency her parents could be there in a few hours. Even though they couldn't see it she plastered on a happy smile and shouted her congratulations down the phone.

With the Deans agreement at the end of the semester Emily signed up for a half load plus one class for the beginning of her sophomore year. If things went well she would add a second class after Christmas.

The first week of July Emily and Fleur flew to France and met up with Dax and Odette to spend the next month happily running over the Alps.

* * *

August 1990

Aaron Hotchner pulled up to the sprawling house in Spring Valley, peeking in the mirror he quickly checked his hair and tie making sure he was presentable for the newly appointed Ambassador to the Ukraine Elizabeth Prentiss.

They were supposed to meet at the Ambassador's offices in the State Department but he'd received a message the night before asking he come to her home.

It was his first assignment for the Bureau and would set the tone for the rest of his career so whatever the Ambassador wanted the Ambassador got.

Walking up the drive he didn't expect to be mowed down by a brunette running through the front door at the exact moment he raised his hand to ring the bell.

"Sorry... Sorry..." she apologised while trying not to drop the box in her arms. Aaron quickly steadied her.

"That's ok, I'm Agent Hotchner from the FBI. I'm here to see Ambassador Prentiss."

She squinted at him for a moment as though trying to work out why an FBI agent would be at their house.

"Oh right... security checks... MOTHER THE FEEB IS HERE" she bellowed over her shoulder before pushing past him and out to her car.

'Feeb' he mouthed to himself.

Not having been invited in he stood at the door and waited. Moments later an older version of the brunette appeared with an even younger version of them perched on her hip.

"Agent Hotchner... nice to meet you." They'd just shaken hands when the middle brunette came back in. He tried to be unobtrusive as hugs and kisses were exchanged between the three and the girl he'd met at the door took the toddler off the ambassador and left.

"My daughter Emily is starting her sophomore year at Yale. They've been visiting my father in law for the last two weeks and things got a bit hectic getting them ready to go back to New Haven"

"Your younger daughter won't be accompanying you to the Ukraine Ma'am?" he recalled the Ambassador having a dependent listed.

Elizabeth quirked an eyebrow at the earnest young man in front of her "Fleur is my granddaughter. She's staying with her mother in New Haven."

It had been a while since she had to explain that Fleur was Emily's daughter not sister and she was impressed when Agent Hotchner did nothing more than nod his acceptance at the correction.

* * *

The Friday before Jules and Elizabeth were due to fly to the Ukraine Emily packed Fleur into the car after her last class and made the drive down to State College to pick up Melissa at Penn State. Logistically it would have been smarter for the two girls to drive to DC separately but the 4 hour drive gave them much needed time to catch up with each other.

They'd managed to keep in touch with regular phone calls but it wasn't the same and Emily missed her friend.

The weekend was going to be insane combining her parents farewell with her 20th birthday.

By the time Sunday hit Emily was too tired to make the drive back to Connecticut, better to miss a day of class than fall asleep at the wheel. Melissa smiled and agreed to delay their departure.

Walking out of the Valley Springs house that Monday morning was a bitter sweet moment. She still had a key and could come down anytime she wanted but it wouldn't be the same without her parents there.

When she hugged her Mother goodbye Elizabeth pushed an envelope into Emily's hands.

Inside were plane tickets to Kiev for Christmas and Spring Break. Emily had anticipated her parents doing this but being able to physically hold the proof that she would get to see her parents filled her with relief.

* * *

Emily slid down the wall as her legs gave out, she could still hear Fleur crying and the bustle of the medical staff as they attempted to get her settled. Her eyes stared straight ahead glistening with tears and unfocused.

She knew her daughter, no matter what the nurse said they wouldn't be able to settle Fleur down without Emily there. The longer Fleur cried the more agitated she felt, her fists were unconsciously clenching as they sat on her knees.

A particularly loud cry echoed out the door and down the hall way and it took every ounce of control she had left to not jump up and storm back into the room.

Dropping her head down to rest on her knees she breathed deeply as tears dripped down her nose and into the denim of her jeans.

She's not sure how long she sits there when she feels a body sliding down the wall next to her. Not touching but close enough for her to feel their presence. Steeling herself Emily raised her head and looked over at the man who was now sitting next to her.

He gave her a brief smile "You look like you could use some company while you're waiting."

"She fell..." Emily whispered "I'd just arrived to pick her up, she was playing on the slide and fell off when she saw me..." a tear spilled over and trailed down her cheek.

"Is there anyone I can call for you?" he asked quietly.

Emily stared at the wall in front of her trying to comprehend his question as she chewed on her lip after a few moments of silence she shook her head.

"My parents are overseas and everyone else is in DC..." She knew Nancy would get straight in the car and drive up if she called so would Louise or Tom. Melissa was closer at Penn State and would drop everything for her. She didn't want that though, she was an adult... she could handle this on her own.

Casting a quick glance at her watch she knew Trent would be at training and even then she didn't want to call him. She knew he would come running but his girlfriend was insanely jealous of their friendship and would make his life hell.

The cries from the treatment room had started to die down and Emily didn't know what was worse, hearing Fleur screaming or not being able to hear her.

"What's her name?" he asked quietly

"Fleur... she's 4"

They sat there in silence for another 20 minutes before the nurses let Emily back in the room. Fleur had finally settled enough for them to reset the greenstick fracture in her right wrist. Common in young children, 4 to 6 weeks in a cast and she'd be fine.

Emily didn't think she'd ever recover... she'd heard the crack from several meters away.

By the time Fleur was released from the hospital it was close to midnight. She's not sure how but Emily manages to get them home and settles the four year old in her bed and stares at the clock her exhausted brain trying to work out what time it is in Kiev. Eventually she decides it doesn't matter and dials the embassy.

"Mom..." the words comes out strangled and rough. Trying to hold back the tears Emily fills her parents in on the events of the afternoon. Babbles out how scared she is and how much she misses them.

Just after 9 the next morning Nancy is on her doorstep, with breakfast and a loving hug. Emily finally lets go of iron grip she's had on her emotions and cries.

* * *

December 1993

6 months… in 6 months she would be a college graduate and Emily had no idea what she was going to do next. It had taken her 5 years but she was there.

She had been so focused on keeping her promise to her parents and grandparents that she hadn't gotten around to making a solid plan for afterwards. Emily wasn't even sure what she could do with a major in psychology and a minor in linguistics.

Her mother had started hinting at getting her something in the state department, with her language skills she'd be a shoe in for a translator position… Emily would rather work in a bar than drag Fleur all around the world to posting after posting.

Looking at her watch Emily swore under her breath and took off towards the parking lot. She only had 15 minutes until school got out.

Running past the library a flyer caught her attention, stopping she saw it was for a FBI recruitment seminar the next night.

It couldn't hurt to go and listen…

She made it to Fleur's school three minutes after the bell rang.

The next night she packed a handful of books and toys into a bag and slipped into the back of the lecture hall with Fleur. Listening to the agents talk about life in the Bureau Emily was more than intrigued, she was captivated. By the time the seminar ended Fleur was sound asleep under her chair and Emily was sold. She had a few questions so she waited for the crowds to clear out before heading down to speak with Agent Cole.

30 minutes later an application packet was stuffed into her bag and she was lifting Fleur into her arms.

"Do you need a hand with anything?" Agent Cole had seen the younger woman slip into the hall with the little girl at the beginning and had been impressed by the questions Emily had asked.

"I've got it thanks..." Emily smiled "have a good night" she tried to fool herself into thinking she needed time to consider her options but deep down Emily knew she would be applying for the August intake sooner rather than later.

It took her over a month to work up the courage to tell her parents.

There was silence on the other end of the phone... Emily didn't expect immediate acceptance she was just hoping for non-aggression.

"The FBI?" her father finally spoke.

"Yeah, it's a really good option. I've been feeling like..." Emily wasn't sure if she could even explain it to her parents "Like... college has been something to do, I'm here because it's expected but I've never really been able to work out what comes after you know..." She didn't think they'd understand as they'd both walked into college with a specific goal in place "I majored in psych cause I enjoyed it and languages cause I'm good at it but... I think that the Bureau is something I can be good at, I can make a career out of and make a difference with... it's a career I can support Fleur with."

She waited... there was nothing but heavy breathing on the other end of the line as her parents took in what she had just said.

"Emily... I can..." Elizabeth started but was quickly interrupted.

"Can get me into the FSI? I know..." Emily heaved a sigh "... but I've spent most of my life in the Foreign Services and now that I have a choice I won't be choosing that, I've already sent in my application to the Bureau and the acceptance came in today. It's a done deal as long as I can get one thing taken care of."

Elizabeth had known that would be the response but felt she had to try.

"What's that?" Jules asked.

"It's 21 weeks, I have to live on campus and I can't take Fleur with me." Emily held her breath, she hated the idea of sending the 7 year old away but it had to be done to secure their future. If she could get a decent assignment in New York or DC they would be set. Her parents once again remained silent and Emily knew they were waiting for her to ask. "Can she come and stay with you guys while I'm at the academy?"

Realistically Emily knew her parents would say yes… she also knew that on the off chance they said no then Nancy would be happy to take Fleur.

Worse comes to worse she could suggest leaving Fleur with her Grandfather when they went over for the summer. Her parents would fall all over themselves to get Fleur with them instead.

"No" the refusal from her father nearly brought Emily to tears "I'll come to Washington and stay in the house with her. At least then it will be easy for you to visit on your down time and weekends."

"Thank you Dad..." Emily couldn't stop relieved the sob that bubbled out.

* * *

Four months later Jules and Elizabeth sat with Fleur and cheered.

"Emily Caroline Prentiss, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a major in Psychology and a minor in Modern Languages. Emily also receives the Angier Prize for exceptional performance for her research into the Psychological profile of adolescent drug users."

As Emily shook the Dean's hand and accepted her diploma Fleur slipped out of her chair, just avoiding Elizabeth grasping her shirt and ran down the isle throwing herself at Emily as she descended the stairs. Lifting the 7 year old into her arms Emily didn't notice her father snapping what would become one of their most treasured photo's.

Emily standing in her robe and mortarboard, diploma clutched tightly, Fleur's arms and legs wrapped around her and the small head resting on her shoulder. Her face peaceful as she turned into the dark brown hair to kiss Fleur's head.

The night of Emily's graduation from Yale Elizabeth and Jules had presented her with two pieces of paper.

The first was the deed to the Apartment in New Haven. She was free to sell it or rent it out, whichever worked best for her.

The second was by far the most important document she had ever received. As promised her parents presented her with the custody agreement she had signed the day after Fleur was born.

The final section stating that both Emily and her parents had upheld their sides of the agreement making it void had already been filled out and signed by Elizabeth and Jules. With Fleur in her lap and tears obstructing her vision Emily accepted the pen her father held out to her and signed with shaking hands.

END CHAPTER 8


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

AN: Here is your warning for an original character death in this chapter

Late 1994

The 6 months Emily spent at the academy were painfully lonely. Before going to the academy there had only ever been two nights they had spent apart.

As reassuring as it was to know her daughter was less than an hour away happy and healthy with her grandfather Emily did not like only being able to see them one day a week and she couldn't wait until she had graduated and received her first assignment. Unlike her final year of college there was no hesitation about what came next. As the weeks passed so did her resolve that this was the exact direction she was meant to be going.

6 Weeks into her time at the academy Emily found herself being watched... she couldn't define exactly what it was and if asked couldn't tell you who it was or even prove that it was happening. It was just a gut feeling, an intrinsic an undefinable thing that unsettled her.

At the end of her time in Quantico Emily waited with baited breath on her assignment. With her minor in modern languages and fluency in Arabic and several European languages she hoping to get assigned JTTF. It was an interminable day for the trainee's as they were pulled in one by one in alphabetical order to find out their future.

When Emily's name was called she went into the room and was handed her assignment.

 _Linguistics Analyst_

 _Location: TBA_

 _Department: TBA_

 _Supervisor: TBA_

Frowning in confusion Emily looked up at SSA Tran.

"I don't understand? Do I not have an official assignment?"

"You do" Tran smiled "I don't have clearance for it. You're to meet with ASAIC Tim Campbell in conference room L and he'll have all the details for you."

Blinking in surprise Emily was taken aback for the moment. No one had warned her that this could happen.

Thanking SSA Tran she left the room and made her way down to the conference rooms and found L. Taking a deep breath Emily knocked on the door and waited for admittance, almost immediately a deep voice called for her to come in. Sitting at the table was a man and a women, she recognised both of them. They'd sat in on a number of classes and training scenario's but had never engaged the students of gotten involved in any way.

"Agent Prentiss, I must say we've been very impressed with you." The woman who didn't bother introducing herself started "Fluent in several languages, high marks in threat analysis and critical thinking." she paused for a moment "You've requested Linguistics any where in the North East? Any particular reason for the location?"

Emily took a breath to consider her answer "I'd like to be within driving distance to DC, I have family here and my daughter is only 7 so it'll be nice for us to be close to them. If not we'll be fine." she noted that neither agent showed any surprise at her mention of Fleur.

"As part of inter-agency co-operation there are times when an agent show's aptitude for a specific type of work and that aptitude is put to better use elsewhere. We're assigning you to JTTF, but on permanent loan to Langley where you will be providing linguistic analysis and threat analysis support for foreign threats."

Emily blinked… she hadn't expected that.

* * *

Life settled into a routine over the next few months, they stayed in the Valley Springs house while Emily took her time looking for the perfect place for them to live. Fleur was happily settled into 2nd grade at Horace Mann elementary school and Emily slowly got used to working for the CIA.

Mostly they gave her simple translation checks and nothing time or high security sensitive but once she'd been there 6 months that slowly started to change. As she proved her work to be impeccable they started to give her more important tasks, riskier and more sensitive translations.

Then one day she was working on a communique in German when she overheard two of her fellow linguists arguing over a specific Arabic translation.

"You're both wrong…" she called out absently "That's Levantine phrasing... it's used in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon etc". When questioned on how she could be so sure, Emily smiled and confirmed having spent 2 years in Jordan and time in Egypt and Saudi Arabia before that she'd struggled with the change from Egyptian to Hejazi to Levantine Arabic. As a result Emily was particularly sensitive to the colloquialisms.

That was the day she started getting the problem translations. The ones that didn't make sense to anyone else, some were simply a matter of local dialect, others were written in code that more often than not she managed to get a start on cracking before handing it off to the cryptologists.

By the time Fleur started the fourth grade Emily was back at Quantico taking the Behavioural Analysis courses. It was also during that time they finally moved out of the Valley Springs house an into the top floor two bedroom apartment of a converted Edwardian row house in Cathedral Heights. Before moving in the two of them spent a weekend re-painting and setting it up perfectly for the two of them.

Emily joined a team specialising in video analysis, picking over not just the language coming out of their mouths but their bodies as well.

Fleur moved over to GDS for middle school.

Elizabeth was moved to Brussels and Jules followed continuing with his research and teaching.

Life went on.

Until the painfully hot July day Dax called her with tears thickening his voice. He and Odette had made their yearly trek up to Andre's cabin to find their elderly grandfather had passed.

She and Fleur had managed to get up to the Chateau the summer Fleur was 9 but Emily hadn't been able to get leave over the summer since.

Emily talked to her boss and was given two weeks off, booked flights and packed bags for herself and Fleur. That evening they were on a flight to Nice, by the time Emily pulled her rental car into Le Bijou it was 5 in the morning and she was exhausted. Fortunately somethings never changed and Max had left the kitchen door unlocked, she was just about to shake her sleeping 11 year old awake when a hand on her shoulder startled her and she looked over relieved as Dax shooed her to the side and hoisted Fleur into his arms.

Emily burst into a fresh round of tears as Dax led her to room 5. The very room her Maman and Papa had kept her safe in the night she turned up from Rome nearly 12 years before.

She could still see her Papa standing in the doorway watching her sadly and feel the warmth of her Maman's hands as she stroked her cheek so softly and lovingly.

Covering Fleur with a light blanket Emily then stepped out of the room and straight into Dax's arms.

"Who else is here?" she whispered.

"Everyone... they all arrived yesterday." he confirmed, the rest of the family was surprised Emily managed to get there so quickly "sleep for a few hours mon petit cousin we can all wait." _(my little cousin)_.

"Thank you..." with a deep sigh Emily crawled into bed with Fleur and dropped into an exhausted sleep.

When she next wakes bright sunlight is streaming through the window, Fleur is sound asleep next to and her mother is seated by the unlit fireplace reading.

"She still snores." Elizabeth commented with a smirk.

"Like you wouldn't believe" Emily rolled her eyes and then herself out of the bed stumbling blearily out the door and to the bathroom.

When she got back to the room Fleur hadn't moved and her mother was holding out a steaming cup of coffee.

Blowing on the scalding cup Emily sat in the chair opposite Elizabeth and regarded her mother.

"How's Daddy?" She didn't bother keeping her voice low, Fleur would sleep through it.

"He's coping." Elizabeth shrugged "your Papa hasn't been the same since your Maman died. I've been preparing myself for this for nearly a decade... your father has too. I think that's why we haven't come back very often. Seeing your Papa like that was too hard on your father."

"In some way's Papa died with Maman" Emily whispered old enough and wise enough to know why Andre had disintegrated into a shadow of the man who taught her to swim in Torrent Du Lait.

They sat there in silence until Fleur started to stir, up until the previous day her understanding of death had been the vague and childish notion of someone who had never lost a person they remembered loving. She'd cried and fretted herself into exhaustion on the flight over so when she did finally wake it wasn't a pleasant experience for any of them.

It was the first time they were all together since burying Fleur.

Jules, Elizabeth, Emily and Fleur.

Bastien, Amalie, Dax, Odette and Camille.

Lisette, Marcus, Lucien, Pascal and Dominique.

It's midday before the family heads up to the Chateau. On the third day they bury Andre with the wife he never recovered from loosing.

By the fourth day Emily can't deal with it anymore, there is an emptiness to the chateau that can't banished no matter how many people they shove through its doors.

She runs alone up the mountain retracing her steps along paths she'd never before trod alone, the ghosts of her Papa and Maman chase her with laughing voices. The bright blue of the sky and warmth of the air mocks her.

 _"Emily be off the mountain before dark..."_

 _"Why Papa? The mountain knows me, it will keep me safe."_

 _"No it won't little one, the mountain is the earths fury. The wind will whip up, the stars will retreat behind clouds and before you know it the loving warmth of the sun is a memory. You will be lost to the mountain and it will not lead you home."_

The mountains she loved and had run to when the world turned against her were no longer her friend. There was no joy, no welcome and no happiness left here.

She reaches a peak and screams her grief to the sky.

* * *

August 2001

Maria Calhoun scanned her class roster for the new school year. She was familiar with most the returning sophomores, juniors and seniors. According to this the freshmen were a mix of students coming from their middle school and transfers from elsewhere.

"Oh my god..." Maria gasped loud enough for two of the other math teachers to hear her.

"What's wrong?"

Maria flicked the roster around and pointed to a name "I'm officially old... I taught Fleur Prentiss' mom"

She'd known that Fleur was attending the school but seeing her name on the roster for the High school threw her more than she'd like to admit.

"I'm not counting Fleur as my first legacy" Terrance Murdoch called out from across the room.

"Why not and how do you know it's the same family?"

Seeing the confusion on the newer teachers faces Terrance stood and walked over to the shelf that contained every year book since the school's inaugural year. Plucking the 1989 book he flipped through it until he found the picture he was looking for.

Seated on the bleachers was Emily, Calandra, Tania, Nicole and Melissa. Fleur on Emily's lap dressed as a Grasshopper.

"Fleur was 6 months old when her mom started her junior year here." Maria smiled "She became the unofficial mascot for Emily's class"

"Emily was the first teen mom we graduated and sent to college" Terrance smiled at the memory of the spitfire he'd interviewed 15 years before.

Months later when parent teacher night rolls around Maria greets Emily with a warm hug and a delighted smile. They spend more time catching up than discussing Fleur's performance in class.

END CHAPTER 9


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

April 2002

Clyde Easter stood in the corner of the director's office eyeing the brown eyed brunette who had just been shown into the room. He had spent weeks searching different agencies for someone that met the requirements for the Valhalla operation and had given up hope of finding someone that had everything he needed until he saw _her._ Dark haired, brown nearly black eyes, alabaster skin that she wore with confidence and poise. Physically she met all of the requirements, and when he heard her chattering away in French he'd started digging trying to find out who this woman was.

Emily Prentiss, linguistics analyst and hyper polyglot, plucked out of the FBI Academy and loaned to the CIA. Spent her entire career in Langley as a linguist and translator, early on it had been noted that she had a knack for reading people so they sent her back to the FBI to take their behavioural analysis training. David Rossi had tried to get her back into the mainstream bureau for eventual transfer to the BAU but had been blocked at every turn. She was too valuable to the CIA.

She spent her day's analysing footage, translating both the words and the people.

She could sniff out a liar better than any of the other linguists there which is why the higher ups didn't mind keeping her in Langley, she had turned down several assignments to field offices which her direct supervisor was happy with but there was grumbling that she was being wasted there.

There was talk of building a team around her skill set but it was impossible if she didn't get any field experience.

JTF-12 would be a massive step forward for her and if successful would give her the clout she needed to do exactly that.

Ultimately she had all the building blocks he needed to make her into what Ian Doyle wanted.

"Sir, I'm going to have to decline…" he did a double take as did the Director.

"And why is that Agent Prentiss?" none of them missed the iciness in the directors tone.

"On paper this assignment is a good one, it utilises all of my current skill set and gives me the opportunity to add more. However there are a number of aspects that make it unappealing for me. Strike 1 it's a Joint Task force and based out of Interpol's London Gateway office. Strike 2 the training for the undercover OP has me at an undisclosed location for at least 3 months. Strike 3 the OP itself you stated will take anywhere from 4 to 6 months. Finally strike 4 it will involve a lot of traveling between different cities around Europe and the US…"

Clyde couldn't see the problem.

"… What should I to do with my daughter?"

Daughter…?

"I won't allow her to be part of the cover and I can't leave her behind." Emily's gaze flickered between the two surprised men. "You did read my personal file and know I have a dependent right?"

"There's no maternity leave in your file." The Director stated weakly, they had skimmed it for skill set and evaluations, she didn't keep any pictures on her desk or wear a ring so they assumed she was single and childless.

"There wouldn't be, she was born before I joined, she's 15."

Clyde nearly choked on his own spit when he did the math and then took the next several seconds to consider where the conversation could go from here. On one hand they needed Prentiss for her knowledge, skills and looks and on the other he would much prefer for the agent they used to be single and childless and he didn't like the idea of giving her an ultimatum.

The Director had no such compunction.

"Agent Prentiss this is the fourth task force you've been invited to work on and you've refused the previous 3. If you turn this one down no more invitations will be forthcoming and without the experience it gives you no advancement is possible... The choice is yours, take 48 hours and then let us know what your decision is."

* * *

That night after dinner Emily wandered aimlessly around the house, unable to settle. The decision should be clear cut, she was the single mother of a 15 year old... and yet. Knowing she wouldn't get anywhere without talking it out she picked up the phone, dialed her mothers private line in Brussels and when Elizabeth picked up the phone poured out her entire day.

"It's not an impossible choice Emily. Saying yes to this isn't the same as saying your career is more important than your child."

"Mom…" Emily sighed as she curled up on the couch legs tucked under her, her mother wasn't saying anything she hadn't already considered.

"I'm not going to take a job that could be worse for Fleur in the long run… she's happy at GDS and she's got a good group of friends that I don't want to drag her away from. It's a year long operation with a lot of travel… I can't leave her here and I can't take her to London with me because while it'll be my base of operations I won't be there 90% of the time"

"Emily… your father and I would be happy for her to come and stay with us for however long you need." Elizabeth knew Emily had turned down opportunities in the past because of Fleur, they were honestly impressed with how much Emily had sacrificed since Fleur's birth.

"I know and if it was only for a couple of weeks I wouldn't hesitate but over a year… you do remember my 15th and 16th years don't you? Imagine me at 15 with a cell phone?"

"I… um… oh dear…" Elizabeth stuttered, that was not a pretty thought.

"And Mom, this isn't a criticism but I remember 15, and I remember how much it sucked to leave all my friends behind and I don't want to do that to her. I had some amazing experiences but every move was a battle that I didn't always win."

"And we didn't help… we just assumed you'd be ok with move after move because you didn't know anything else…" Elizabeth sighed "Em, talk to her. Be honest about the pros and cons for your career as well as the opportunities she has by coming to stay with us in Brussels. I'm sure GDS will let you maintain her enrollment as an exchange student. You've given up so much for her, she's old enough for you to be a little selfish."

"Hmmm…" Emily was non-committal her brain flickering through the options.

"Emily, tell me again what turning this down means for your career."

"I'm at the point where I've turned down too many task forces, if I don't do this one I won't get another chance which means I'll never get the field experience to be promoted beyond where I am. By the time Fleur is in college it will be too late for me..."

"Do you want to do it?

"I really do."

Fleur stood in the hallway listening and wondered what else her Mother had given up for her, Missy had once said when they were in high school her mom only went out to places she could take her...

"Mom..." she didn't often interrupt when Emily was on the phone "I think a year in Brussels will be really good. I'll get to improve my French and German and maybe even learn Dutch..."

Emily looked over her shoulder and stared open mouthed at Fleur for several long seconds before her brain caught up with the offer her daughter was making.

"Let me call you back Mom."

* * *

June 2002

Less than 24 hours in and Emily was already regretting her choice.

The task force Clyde Easter had pitched to her was a JTF with agents from DCRI, BND and himself from the SIS. Interpol had set them on the trail of a weapons dealer that they couldn't get close enough to to ID and they'd been wholly unsuccessful at getting any men into the organisation so someone had decided to try a completely different track.

They wanted her to go in, bat her eyelashes, flash some cleavage and see if that got her past Ian Doyle's defenses.

She was the first to admit she had a fantastic cleavage, but she'd never been a eyelash batting type.

Coming to a decision she pulled up the dossier on Ian Doyle and started to work through what they knew about his habit's, proclivities and preferences. Once that was done she went back to the Lauren Reynolds file noting they had matched her to him perfectly.

Anything he liked her new persona would like, they'd created the perfect woman for Ian Doyle.

Rolling her eyes she glanced at the name at the bottom of the file. Jeremy Wolff, BND.

She was working her way through, tweaking Lauren Reynolds to make her a little less perfect, a little more mysterious when Clyde walked through the door.

"Jeremy Wolff is an idiot..." she barely glanced up from her work.

"Your point?" Clyde slumped down in the chair opposite her.

"I really don't feel like coming out of this in a body bag... so I'm making Lauren Reynolds a real girl..." she waggled her eyebrows at him causing Clyde to chuckle darkly. He'd honestly come to like Emily in the last few months, she had a wickedly dark sense of humour.

Clyde watched Emily work in silence for several minutes before speaking again.

"Are you planning on informing the rest of the team of your connections in Brussels?"

Her pen paused and for several long moments and she stared at the piece of paper considering her answer before looking up at him.

"No..." she replies flatly "At my request the director removed all reference to her from my file. As far as the Agency or Interpol is concerned she doesn't exist."

"Who doesn't exist?" Clyde smiled slightly, telling her he would support the lie.

* * *

February 2003

Clyde looked at her… he could understand why she wanted to go into the mainstream Bureau, the Doyle mission was supposed to be a quick get in identify Valhalla and get out again he'd thought 2 maybe 3 months maximum. He'd purposefully overshot the estimate to everyone. Instead Emily had ended up spending 8 months running around Europe and the US with Ian Doyle as she peeled back layer after layer of the arms market. Every time they met up Clyde could see more and more of that funny, quirky woman being stripped away. She'd been forced to play a part they hadn't prepared her for.

"Ok, we're re-writing your history. Same job but strictly Bureau, no CIA and no Interpol. Your BAU training stay's and we're redacting everything else as classified behavioural linguistics, on paper you'll have been in Chicago for the last 18 months, and as requested your transfer back to DC won't be official until August so you've got some downtime before you start at the Hoover Building in the JTTF and as soon as a spot's available you can apply to the BAU. I've made sure your file says exactly what it needs to say to get you there."

"Thank you…" Emily's gaze drifted off into the distance, focusing on a boat meandering its way down the Thames.

"I've also created a false trail through the CIA, same name, different work history and she's going to be killed on an op next week and another in Interpol different name same job. She's retiring to the Alps next month. If anyone comes looking for you that's where they'll look. It should be enough to keep someone off your trail."

"Clyde… I need you to promise me something"

"Anything" There were maybe three other people in the world Clyde would do anything for, he'd never expected Emily to be the fourth.

"You'll protect Fleur, if anyone does find me you get to her and you get her safe… I can take care of myself as long as I know she's ok." She finally turned her head to look at him and for the first time ever he saw fear.

By the time they'd realised that Doyle wasn't just a high ranking lieutenant but was in fact Valhalla she was already in too deep to be pulled out and all they had been able to do was watch from afar.

She had been magnificent, had the potential to be one of the most successful undercover operatives Clyde had ever seen except for one thing. She didn't have the heart for it, so he was letting her go back to Washington.

"With my life"

Nodding her thanks Emily stood up and walked away from Clyde Easter hoping she would never see him again.

Her bags were already packed and in the rental car. The drive to Heathrow and flight to Brussels passed in a blur, a car was waiting for her at the airport to take her straight to the Embassy.

She'd called her mother that morning to let Elizabeth know when her flight landed, Emily has also made Elizabeth promise not to tell anyone she was coming, if something happened she didn't want Fleur to be disappointed if she didn't show up as scheduled.

It was her 16th birthday…

The car pulled in just after 2 in the afternoon, Fleur wouldn't be home from school until four which gave her just enough time to shower and get in a power nap.

She hadn't expected her mother to be waiting at the door for her but there she was, a big smile on her face and arms open.

Stepping into her mother's arms Emily relaxed for the first time in 10 months.

"Op's finished…" she whispered in Elizabeth's ear.

"Good." Elizabeth pulled back and looked Emily up and down noting the hollowed out cheeks, prominent collarbones sticking out of a sweater that a year before hadn't swam on her, the tightly cinched belt done up in a handmade hole, a cut healing on her lip and bruise fading on her cheek "we'll talk more tonight, for now go have a nap and a shower"

Elizabeth led her up to the family suite and into a bedroom before leaving her to relax, poking around she found an empty closet and a door to a shared bathroom, peeking through the adjoining door she found Fleur's bedroom.

She heaved a sigh at the sheer amount of stuff her daughter had accumulated in the last year. From the amount of clothes strewn across the room along with the TV, DVD player and stereo it seemed her parents had taken advantage of her absence and spoiled Fleur as much as they could.

 _'Dad, promise me when she's 15 ... you can be strong and say no?'_

It was going to be a bitch getting it all back to DC, shaking her head Emily closed the door and stripped down to shower.

Pulling on a pair of comfortable sweats and t-shirt she set the alarm for 3:30 and lay down in the bed quickly dropping off into a light sleep.

All too soon the alarm was buzzing, redressing in a pair of worn jeans and red tank Emily wandered down through to the offices in search of her mother. Just before four she finally managed to find her and nearly laughed at the scandalised look on the secretary's face at the sight of her, bruised and dressed in inappropriately casual clothes. Tapping lightly on the door Emily slipped inside at Elizabeth's soft "Come in".

"Well you look slightly better..." Elizabeth commented leaning back to get a better look at her daughter. Time would take care of the injuries and weight loss but Elizabeth had a feeling the emotional cost was higher than anyone had expected.

The timing of Emily's return couldn't be more perfect, not only was she here for Fleur's 16th birthday but it was the last day of school before spring break which would give the two of them a whole week together. Hopefully by the time school started up again some of the darkness would be banished.

Seeing a lounge by the window Emily curled up comfortably in the afternoon sun and stared down at the courtyard wondering how she was going to look Fleur in the eye after everything she'd seen and done in the last 10 months.

Somewhere out there was a little boy wondering why his Dad wasn't coming home and it was all her doing.

On the other hand there were a lot of children out there whose parents weren't coming back because of the weapons Ian had sold... there were a lot of parents who were now childless for the same reason.

Pushing the dark thoughts away Emily turned to her Mother.

"Do we have any plans for tonight?"

"Officially no... Fleur wouldn't let us organise anything without you there, after getting your call I booked a table for the four of us at a small restaurant down the road that Fleur enjoys. We'll organise something big for when school goes back after Spring Break."

"Sounds perfect."

Elizabeth went back to her paperwork as Emily continued her quiet contemplation of the courtyard. Just after 4 the sight of Fleur wandering in through the gates caused her to sit up and lean closer to the window. She swallowed past the lump in her throat and wondered again if it had been worth it. She'd missed nearly a year of her daughter's life.

"She'll come straight here to say hello..." Elizabeth murmured "I make sure I never have anything scheduled for the half an hour after she's due home..." Emily understood immediately her Mother's reasons, while her parents hadn't been overly restrictive with the teen they had been much more attentive with Fleur than they had been with Emily. The last thing any of them wanted was a repeat of Emily's 15th year.

"And she's been happy at school?"

"Yes, she's made a good group of friends both local and diplobrats and she's in the top 5 of her grade."

Emily nodded, and watched the door anxiously. After another few minutes of silence a light tapping sounded and the door slowly opened Fleur stuck her head through with a smile.

She'd been putting on a brave face for her Grandparents all week, all she really wanted for her birthday was for her Mom to be there but she refused to admit that to them.

"Fleur, come in..." Elizabeth waved the teen into the office and walked over to her, from the door she couldn't see Emily nearly vibrating with anticipation on the couch.

Wrapping Fleur in her arm Elizabeth whispered in the 16 year olds ear "Close your eyes une fille adorable" _(lovely girl)_.

Stepping behind her Elizabeth covered Fleur's eyes just in case she peeked.

"J'ai une surprise d'anniversaire pour toi" _(I have a birthday surprise for you)_ she guided her granddaughter over to stand in front of Emily.

Emily swallowed past the lump in her throat and drank in the sight of Fleur, reaching up she gently caressed Fleur's cheek as Elizabeth removed her hands.

"Happy Birthday baby girl..." it came out as more of a sob than anything else.

Fleur's eyes flew open in disbelief and immediately threw herself at Emily... just this morning her Maman and Papa had confirmed that they hadn't heard from her Mom in a few weeks. If she'd been able to make it she would have called.

"I called after you left for school... I wanted to surprise you." With Fleur in her arms and for the first time in months Emily felt something slide back into place. The feeling of wrongness and incompleteness started to fade now she was back with Fleur.

"How long can you stay?" Fleur's voice trembled quietly in her ear.

"It's all done, except for going back to DC to get the apartment ready I'll be here until school's finished for the year then we're going home and we're staying." Emily reassured her daughter.

When Jules came into the office an hour later he found his wife seated on the couch by the window Emily's head on her lap, with Fleur stretched out on top of her mother, all three of them dozing in the late winter sun. None of them could be comfortable but he knew they didn't care.

Crouching down next to them Jules ran gentle fingers through Emily's hair, tired eyes popped open immediately.

"Hi Daddy..." she smiled tiredly.

"Mon petit amour, accueille la maison" ( _My little love, welcome home_ ) he whispered before leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead.

* * *

The following week was perfect as far as Emily was concerned, she and Fleur spent lazy mornings eating breakfast in bed. The afternoons were spent meandering through Brussels, eating their way through the street stalls, making up stories about the people they saw bustling their way through the city.

Emily stayed in Brussels another 3 weeks after Fleur went back to school before feeling comfortable enough to head back to DC for a few days.

She stayed long enough to check on Louise and Declan at the house in Reston, open up the apartment and give it a thorough clean, go into GDS and confirm Fleur's enrollment for the following school year and stop by Georgetown to see if it was too late to enrol to get her masters in psychology.

She was fortunate the Dean of admissions was willing to sit down with her. Officially their intake was full, but he laughed when she showed him her transcripts from Yale and her fabricated work history and gave her a list of the classes she'd need.

"Sign up for the individual classes and we can officially take you into the Masters program mid year and credit the classes to you."

When she arrived back in Brussels Emily knew she needed to speak with Fleur and her parents in general terms about what she had been doing for the last year as well as the cover story. Waiting until Fleur is in bed the night she gets home Emily decides to tackle her parents first in the hope that they can help her decide what to tell Fleur.

Once the three of them are settled in her Mother's private study with drinks poured Emily takes a deep breath before speaking.

"When I graduated from the Academy, I was immediately loaned out to the CIA..." she starts and is relieved to see her parents aren't surprised at the admission.

"I've been a linguistics analyst out of Langley for them until last April when as you know I was asked to join a task force. They needed someone with my language and behavioural analysis skills to bring down an arms dealer for Interpol. When we get back to DC I'll be rejoining the mainstream Bureau doing for them exactly what I've been doing for the CIA. Officially I'll have been in Chicago since last April on special assignment. They're building a classified Bureau work history for me and I'm going to work on getting my Masters in psychology. By the time I've done that Fleur should be finished with high school and I'm going to apply for the BAU."

"Behavioural Analysis?" Jules relaxed back into his chair, relieved Emily was finally getting out of the CIA "that sounds like a really good fit for you."

They didn't go straight back to DC once Fleur finished school for the year.

Knowing this would be one of their last opportunities before Fleur went to college Emily rented a car and drove them down to Dormillouse with stops in Luxembourg, Strasbourg, Bern and Geneva on the way.

Emily's heart broke a little when they arrived at Le Bijou to the news Max had passed the previous winter and Valerie was unable to manage the inn on her own. Sometime in the last few months it had been sold and the kitchen door was locked.

Wanting to preserve as much of her family's time in the alps as possible Emily took Fleur all over the mountain that summer and photographed the most important places writing down what she could remember about her Maman and Papa's lives there. The day before they left she had copies made of all the photo's and the two of them built a scrapbook of the recent family history and left it on the kitchen table of the chateau with a note for whoever came to visit next asking them to add their own memories and stories.

END CHAPTER 10


	11. Chapter 11

Final chapter, there is just an epilogue after this.

CHAPTER 11

Getting her masters while working full time and getting Fleur through the last two years of high school was impossible some days.

Emily was reminded of those first few months of college where she was barely keeping it together. At least this time she was a decade wiser and didn't have a clingy toddler to contend with.

Ecstatic to be back with her friends at GDS on top of getting her license and a car Fleur was relatively low maintenance.

Elizabeth and Jules return to Washington for the double graduation of Spring 2005. Emily from Georgetown with her masters in psychology and Fleur from high school.

The three of them sat together on the expansive lawn at Georgetown Day School. Elizabeth sat smiling stoically as she just managed to hold the tears of joy back. Jules and Emily didn't even try, wrapping his arm around his daughter Jules pressed a kiss to Emily's temple.

"Look at what you've done..."

Emily wondered how many people would believe her when she told them she and her daughter had attended each others high school graduations.

In fall 2005 she applied to the BAU… and was rejected. From what she heard it went to an Agent Greenaway. Not too bothered at this point Emily shrugged, went back to work and waited for the next opening.

Little more than a year later her transfer finally came through on paper and then Aaron Hotchner rejected her at first sight but life had taught her to persist, to fight and claw her way to what she wanted. So she asked around, plied to mail room intern with coffee to get notified when the team returned and tried again... this time with more proof than a signature. She has a profile to back herself up.

That's how she found herself flying home from Gitmo playing chess against a behavioural master.

"Tell me something about yourself that will surprise me?" Gideon looked down at the board, Prentiss wasn't using any of the standard chess manoeuvres... she was unpredictable, read the board and seemed to be playing from her own book. It was their second game and she'd won the first by sacrificing her Queen to trap his King with a rook and two pawns. She wasn't making fancy trick plays... he couldn't quite work out her strategy... it intrigued him.

"I was 15 and tripped out on ecstasy when my daughter was conceived." Emily shot back without hesitation.

His head shot up in shock and he carefully studied her face. Her gaze wasn't shuttered and she was neither blinking too much nor not enough. Her posture hadn't changed, her hands hadn't started to fiddle or fuss with anything, her legs remained crossed at the knees.

She was telling the truth and there was no intrinsic shame or guilt. Just honest acceptance.

"That... is definitely a surprise..."

"Yes she was. She's 19 and a sophomore at Georgetown."

Gideon studies her for a moment "You'll have to tell me the whole story sometime"

"There's not much to tell..." Emily shrugged carelessly, it had been years since she'd let anyone make her feel ashamed "I was angry and lonely and that made me stupid. I thought I could make friends by doing drugs and having sex..."

"Didn't work, did it?" Gideon had been wondering what drove Emily Prentiss to the BAU.

"Nope..."

Gideon looked back down at the board and realised she'd done to him exactly what he had been doing to Reid. Playing the most random unpredictable move available on the board and hoping for the best.

"You watched me play Reid and used my moves against me..." a wide grin broke out... oh he liked her mind.

"Yes Sir. A psychic can't predict the future when an idiot flips a coin." he rolls the phrase around his head for a few moments before nodding his head in acceptance of it.

They play in silence for the next 15 minutes but Emily can feel Gideon watching her, his focus more on her past than their present. It doesn't take long for her to work out what he's trying not to voice.

"It was only a few years ago I finally admitted to myself I was incapable of giving consent... and not just because of my age"

Gideon just nods at her acceptance looking back down at the board and moving his bishop.

"Do you have a picture?"

Emily's smile is blinding as she pulls two photo's out of her wallet. The first is worn, dog eared and stained, obviously old and treasured "Fleur was 3 days old when this was taken."

Gideon studies the photo and his heart breaks a little, an impossibly young Emily is sitting in between two women who he assumes are her mother and grandmother, the baby nestled in her arms. Their smiles are wide but there's a brokenness to Emily's eyes that he doesn't see now, he can't imagine how long and hard she battled to become the woman sitting before him.

"This is Fleur's high school graduation" she passes over the second photo, mortarboard firmly in place as Emily and her daughter smile brightly at the camera.

"She's beautiful..." Gideon studied the Prentiss women, the likeness unmistakable.

The happiness and love was unmistakable as well.

* * *

A part of Emily was relieved when Hotch finally accused her of having a political agenda. She'd known it was only a matter of time before he brought up her mothers connections. To the public Elizabeth Prentiss was a consummate politician, agenda driven, uncompromising, well respected but not necessarily well liked. Emily had seen the public persona and knew what people thought of her mother.

It was a well practiced facade that very few people saw behind.

It wasn't until Christmas 1990 that Emily finally understood. Emily and Fleur had flown to Kiev to celebrate the holiday with Elizabeth and Jules, they'd arrived just Elizabeth was finishing up a meeting with some government official or another. Emily had held tight to Fleur to stop the 3 year old from interrupting the conversation her mother was having as she walked her guests out and had had to clench her jaw against the rising tears when she saw the lack of emotion... the concrete bitch face that she hadn't seen since Rome.

Then the door closed and it felt as though the Ambassador had left with them because when Elizabeth turned to face Emily she was her warm loving mother again. Fleur finally slipped from Emily's grasp and ran headlong at her Maman who lifted her up and hugged her close pressing kisses to the toddlers chubby cheeks.

The disconnect had thrown her to the point of pulling away from her mother as she tried to reconcile to two opposite women who inhabited Elizabeth Prentiss.

Cut throat diplomat versus loving mother and grandmother.

Aaron Hotchner had only seen the latter briefly, the second Emily had walked out the front door with Fleur only Ambassador Prentiss would have been available.

"Well... I think politics makes people distrustful. I think it makes them hate themselves. I think it tears families apart, and damages people... So if there's nothing else, I would like to get back out on the street and find out who's killing these women... Sir!" Hotch had never been called 'Sir' with such a clear message of 'fuck you, you arsehole' embedded into it. In the years to come he would rely on this particular talent of hers but for now he just sat back in shock at the acerbically polite barb.

Less than 3 minutes later Emily stormed back into Hotch's office and threw a half inch thick bound stack of paper onto his desk.

"You've been making assumptions about me since the moment I turned up... next time check your facts." she turned on her heel and left the office stopping short of slamming the door behind her.

Blinking in shock Hotch looked down at the book on his desk.

 _'The longterm psychological profile of adolescent drug users' by Emily Prentiss_

Her masters dissertation.

Quickly scanning through the intro he was thoroughly impressed. She'd built on research started at Yale. She'd tracked down all of the teens who'd participated in her research back in 1992 and 1993 and looked at the next 15 years of their lives. Who had gone where and done what, the behavioural markers from then and how accurate the behavioural predictors had been for them long term. Some had ended up exactly as predicted... dead, missing, incarcerated... others had cleaned themselves up graduated high school, college and held down jobs and had families.

Putting it aside to read after this case was closed Hotch sat thoughtfully for a moment. There was something niggling at the back of his mind, a vague memory of Emily Prentiss that he couldn't quite bring to the fore. Pushing it aside for now he went back to their current case.

* * *

Emily was heading back to the bar to get drinks when a very familiar laugh floated over the din. Frowning she wandered around until she came to Spencer Reid surrounded by underage co-eds one of which was her daughter.

Fleur didn't notice her mother standing there arms crossed glaring at the table in general. It wasn't until one of her friends recognised Emily and hit Fleur's bicep and pointed at the fuming agent. The 19 year olds eyes widened comically as the rest of the table turned.

"You said you didn't have any plans..." Fleur managed to stutter out.

"It was a last minute thing... you said you were studying all night! And Reid... any particular reason a Federal Agent is drinking with 19 and 20 year old co-ed's?"

Reid's mouth opened and closed a few times as he tried to formulate a response "they said they were grad students..."

"Yeah UNDER-grads" Emily rolled her eyes... so intelligent and yet so gullible.

Stepping forward Emily place her hand out to the group "Hand em over everyone!"

One of the guys raised his hand "Ummm, couple of questions... Who are you, how do you know they're underage, and mines real. I turned 21 two weeks ago."

"The last one wasn't a question... It was a statement. And the answer to both your questions is Supervisory Special Agent Emily Prentiss." she emphasised the last name. The smart arse's eyes widened and darted between Emily and Fleur finally noticing the resemblance.

When her hand was full of fake ID's she walked around the table and grabbed Fleur's arm, yanked her out of her seat and dragged her past Hotch and Haley to the exit not noticing Spencer following them or that the couple and Garcia joined him curious about why Emily was man-handling a college student out the door.

"What's the rule?" Emily hissed once they were outside.

"Geez Mom..." Fleur rubbed her arm. Behind them Reid, Garcia and Haley all gaped as Hotch suddenly remembered crossing paths with Emily on his first day with the Ambassador. He'd only seen the two of them briefly as they had said goodbye to the ambassador and she strapped her 3 year old into her car for the drive back to New Haven to start her sophomore year at Yale. Given neither were traveling with the Ambassador he promptly filed the information away and hadn't had any reason to pull it back up until now.

"What's the rule Fleur?" Emily was furious as her daughter finally looked up.

"Don't be you…" Fleur rolled her eyes.

"Don't be me… You're 19 and we had a deal… what was the deal?"

"I don't do anything you did and walk out of college debt free."

Emily glared at her daughter while pulling her cell phone out. Dialing a number from memory she put the phone to her ear and waited for it to be picked up on the other end.

"Good Evening Mother... I'm not all that good, I found Fleur in a bar and according to the license she used to buy beer I was in fact 13 and not 16 when I gave birth to her."

"16..." Reid squeaked in the background.

"You'll take care of it tomorrow. Fantastic... she'll be getting a job." Emily hung up the phone never breaking eye contact.

"Gaaah... I can't believe you did that. Seriously Mom I had two beers... why are you such a hard arse"

"You know what Fleur... you have no idea how hard it was..." Emily had never told her the truth about her conception just that she'd made bad decisions and keeping her was never one of them. "It started with a couple of drinks... Alcohol lead to pot then ecstasy, cocaine... the next thing I know I'm pregnant cause I'm 15 years old and wanted to fit in and was so strung out on whatever was available I wouldn't say no to anyone or anything and do you know what they called me? La bici americana... cause everyone got a ride. Unprotected sex in the mid 80's we're damn lucky I didn't contract HIV and give it to you. There was a reason your grandparents had legal guardianship of you until you were 7!"

Emily shook her head, shivering as the bitter February air finally cut through her anger leaving only an empty sadness.

"It wasn't just to get you on their insurance..."

Fleur looked at her mother in shock... she'd known her mother drank as a teen but they'd never mentioned drugs.

"Do you remember the Daddy Daughter dance Papa took you to when you were 10? You pitched a fit cause your grandfather had to take you..."

"You told me my Dad didn't know about me... he moved away and you couldn't find him..." Fleur had always suspected it wasn't quite the truth and wasn't sure she wanted hear what her mother was going to say next.

"I lied... the truth is I was on a three day bender when you were conceived and I have no idea who your father could be."

Fleur's bottom lip trembled as she tried to process what she was hearing.

"I want you to choose if and when you get pregnant... not stand there in 20 years' time knowing you love your kid and you did your best but wishing it didn't have to happen that way."

JJ had appeared at the door looking for the rest of the team just in time to catch Emily's final statement.

"Uhh... we have a case."

"Don't be me Fleur" Emily pushed passed the group at the door to go and get her bag.

Nearly two weeks later they finally get back from Georgia, the team is wrung out and emotionally in tatters. She and Fleur have texted a few times but nothing more than, 'still alive' and 'class is ok.'

Emily plans to invite her to the condo after she's slept so they can really talk.

Not bothering to turn the lights on, she just dumps her go bag inside the door and drags herself up the stairs.

She stands in the shower attempting to wash Tobias Hankel off her, when the water runs cold she gets out grabs a pair a clean pajama's pulls them on and slides into bed...

Only to jump back out screaming when she finds someone already there... she trips over her feet and lands on her backside with a thump.

That somebody falls out of the other side of the bed with a scream of their own.

Scrambling to her knees Emily peeks over the bed and can only see her quilt jerking around as whoever it was tried to escape its confines.

Finally Fleur's dark head appears pushing her mussed hair out of sleepy eyes.

"What the hell Mom? Why are you screaming?"

"Why am I screaming? Why are you in my bed… shouldn't you be at the dorm?"

Fleur shrugs as she stands and steps out of the mass of bedding.

"I wanted to see you… talk to you but I didn't want to disturb you while you were on a case so I've been staying here waiting for you to get back…"

Rubbing her hands over her face Emily stood and pulled Fleur into her arms.

"God I miss you"

"I miss you too and thank you for not really calling Maman..."

"I'm sorry for just throwing all of that at you..." Fleur sighed and relaxed into her mothers arms "I'd always planned to tell you everything but I was scared of how you'd react"

"Can you tell me now?"

Emily pulled Fleur back into the bed with her and the two of them curled up facing each other.

"We moved around a lot when I was a kid, cause of your Maman's postings..."

END


	12. Chapter 12

A big thank you to everyone who read and reviewed. Especially: 123a456e, Lexie4MP, Spooladio.

Extra special thanks to rmpcmfan and ThisBadge who also took the time to PM me.

Bonus scenes from the future:

 **March 2009**

The jet had just landed in Indiana when Emily's phone rang. It wasn't often Fleur called while they were on a case so as she was making her way across the tarmac she answered.

"Hey baby girl... I'm on a case."

"I know, I know but I had to call you right away" the excitement in Fleur's voice was undeniable "I will be matriculating with the Duke University School of Medicine class of 2013"

Despite the seriousness of the job Emily couldn't stop the broad smile that broke out on her face.

"That's amazing..."

* * *

 **October 2010**

"Hey Mom... I'm guessing you're in the field... call me when the case is wrapped up"

"Hey sweet girl... case is all done but your probably in class... talk to you soon"

"Tag your it!"

"This is getting ridiculous... it might be easier to just drive down to Durham... Yeah JJ... I'm..."

"Sad face and sighs dramatically as the mother once again does not answer their phone"

"Sad face and sighs dramatically? What the hell Fleur?"

"Eh... I honestly didn't know what else to say to your voicemail"

"Interesting fact... Garcia dyed her hair red and Morgan's been telling 'A blonde, brunette and a redhead' jokes ever since. Reid's missed the punchline on about 80% of them."

"Don't bother calling me back, I'm coming up to DC for your birthday and not leaving until I get to see you."

* * *

 **March 2011**

Hotch glared at the Brit across the table "and where were you when Mosely was being murdered"

"Keeping a promise..." Clyde debated what to tell the Unit Chief "I recently replanted a very precious flower and needed to make sure it was adapting to the new soil."

He almost asked why the SIS officer would be gardening when his former team was being picked off one by one... Hotch's breath hitched as his meaning became clear. Doyle was going after family's, Emily's parents were safe inside the Embassy in Lisbon but Fleur was incredibly vulnerable down in Durham. The first thing Emily would have done was make sure she was safe.

"That's why she sent Mosely away from you… to make people think she didn't trust you and so you could do the gardening?"

"Yes"

* * *

The team had been told Fleur would be remaining in witness protection until after Ian Doyle was apprehended. Several hours after JJ announced that Emily had died on the table Clyde Easter slipped Fleur into the hospital via the staff entrance and up to the ICU.

"Remember your name is Imogene and she's your sister Stella and she was in a car accident…" he whispered

Fleur nodded and pushed through the doors to where her mother lay.

Standing by the bed she absently took note of the medical data being output by various machines.

Heart rate and blood pressure were in line with the level of sedation Fleur assumed she was under. The ventilator settings told Fleur that the machine was ensuring Emily's lungs inflated fully but she was actually breathing on her own.

Not for the first time Clyde Easter regretted ever laying eyes on Emily Prentiss.

"As soon as she's stable she's being moved to Bethesda. The team has been told she died on the table and you're with WitSec. It'll be close to a month before she's in any condition to travel, the Marshall's suggested separating the two of you but Hotchner and Jareau shot it down. Once she can travel you'll be given your new identities and taken to a safe place."

48 hours later they moved her to Bethesda.

72 hours after that an empty coffin was buried.

Neither Calandra nor Melissa were shy when they questioned Hotch on why the FBI insisted on holding the funeral without Emily's daughter or parents.

"The man who killed Emily goes after families" Hotch barely flinched "Until he's apprehended Fleur will remain in witness protection and the Prentiss' will remain in Lisbon"

* * *

 **October 2011**

"And Fleur... Did you let her daughter think she was dead this whole time?" Derek snapped the anger and betrayal blazing from every pore.

"No" Hotch answered before Emily got a chance to "Clyde Easter had hidden Fleur away when it was confirmed Doyle had killed Sean McAlister and his family, we told you the truth when we said she was in witness protection. Fleur was by her side from the moment we left the hospital. When Emily was well enough to travel they were taken to Paris and given assumed identities. Where they went after that I don't know. Fleur was in just as much danger as Emily and understood why it needed to happen that way."

"She woke up an hour before the funeral..." Fleur whispered from the doorway causing Derek to spin round "they'd kept her sedated to give her body time to heal... they had to remove her spleen and a quarter of her stomach... It was another 3 weeks before she was healthy enough to travel, we were dropped off in Paris with new identities and cash but she was so weak... vulnerable... Paris was big and easy to get lost in but predictable, we could have disappeared into the Alps and no one would have found us, we know the mountains too well but it was months before she was healthy enough for that kind of trek so we rented a cottage just outside of Dunkirk..." Fleur took a deep breath and blew it out making sure her eyes were locked with her mothers.

"The hardest thing wasn't walking away from medical school, or my boyfriend, it wasn't lying to all of you... it was holding my mom's hair back while she vomited up blood from the ulcer she developed, it was watching her research plastic surgeon's to remove the brand Doyle gave her, it was listening to her beg for my forgiveness for ruining my life..."

"Fleur..." Derek started

"Don't... I don't want to hear your reasons for being angry, I don't care about them. Until she came to the BAU everything she did was classified. I was 15 when she joined JTF-12 for the Valhalla mission... she didn't lie because she doesn't trust you... she lied because none of us have the clearance to know what she did before 2005. My Grandparents and I willingly supported that lie... so you can shove your self-righteous anger up your ass."

Fleur didn't wait for anyone to respond, instead turning and leaving the office, slamming Hotch's door shut hard enough to rattle the walls.

* * *

 **June 2012**

Emily cast her eye over the boxes that now covered the entirety of her bedroom as she ran the to do list through her head.

Fleur - upset but accepting

Parents - Understanding

Team - less understanding but accepting

Car - Sold

Sergio - settled with Garcia

The Bureau hierarchy had been surprisingly helpful when it came to moving her to Interpol. They hadn't demanded her resignation, much like when she'd worked out of Langley they'd simply loaned her to Interpol with an open ended return date.

Rossi had cornered her the day she announced the transfer to the rest of the team and unlike the others he'd very quickly worked out why she was doing this. Emily hadn't lied to Morgan when she'd said there were cracks in the foundation, but it was so much more to it than that.

Her life had been revolving around Fleur since she was 16 years old. Her first attempt at doing something for herself and her career had been to join JTF-12 and it had blown up in all their faces spectacularly. Then once Fleur was heading for college she'd joined the BAU and it had been wonderful and fulfilling but she'd still been within spitting distance of her now adult daughter.

Transferring to the London Gateway office was for her and her alone. That was what none of the team understood.

They didn't have a baby at home while finishing high school. They didn't go to college with a toddler.

Their Bureau training hadn't been marred by missing their child. Their first years of work hadn't been a delicate balancing act of hard work, finding their place, getting school pick up and drop off done. Parent/teacher nights, running along side the bike, broken bones, broken hearts, juggling gymnastics with school projects, with work.

She can finally take the opportunities and chances she couldn't at 25.

So that's what she was doing.

* * *

 **September 2014**

Fleur's eyes flickered around the restaurant nervously, left leg bouncing up and down. .

This was not the way tonight was supposed to go...

A gentle hand landed on her knee and she turned her head to look at her fiancé. Alex had met her mother quite a few times when they made the trip from Durhum to DC but between Emily's work schedule with the BAU, the 7 months they'd spent in hiding and the move to London 2 years before the five of them had never managed to get together.

After missing a year of medical school she had finally graduated and just started her second year as a resident at GW, Alex had started there the year before in the Oncology department and she was in the ER. His parents had disagreed quite vocally with their decision to settle in DC instead of the Carolina's. Emily was happily letting them live in the condo rather than sell it or leave it empty.

When Emily had called her two months before to let her know she would be in DC for meetings they had immediately seized the opportunity to invite her future in-laws up to the District.

Fleur should have predicted this and told Emily to be at the restaurant an hour before everyone else... she would have only been 15 minutes late then.

Movement at the front window caught her eye as the unmistakable form of her mother slipped past and through the front doors.

Standing Fleur quickly caught Emily's attention and waved her over.

Smile wide, open and relaxed in a way Fleur hadn't seen since before Doyle, the Prentiss women wrapped their arms around each other.

The move to London had been good for her.

"Sorry I'm late, I was on my way out when I got pulled into an urgent briefing. Emily Prentiss" she reached out to shake everyones hands after giving Alex his own hug.

They all caught the pursing of Lillian Stone's lips as she eyed Emily disdainfully.

"I would think that your daughter is more important than some bureaucrat..."

"Generally yes..." Emily smirked "but when the director's of the FBI, CIA and NSA requests a briefing..." she trailed off with an apologetic shrug, her point to Lillian made brutally hard and fast.

"I invited Maman and Papa but she was asked to attend the talks in Riyadh and flew out yesterday and Papa is still in Glasgow lecturing at St Andrews." Fleur knew what her mother was doing and added salt to the wound. Alex's parents may have been old Charlotte money but they couldn't hold a candle to the Prentiss' accomplishments.

"By the way I spoke Dax and he said to send him the dates and the Chateau is yours for the honeymoon."

"Chateau?" Alex's father cocked an eyebrow at them.

"Dax is my Cousin, when my grandfather passed his property in the French Alps was put into trust for the family to use and Dax administers the trust. Fleur wants to show Alex where she was born and spent her summers until she was 7."

Emily reached into her bag and pulled out a photo of Andre and Fleur sitting on the shores of Lac Palluel a month before she started at the FBI academy.

"That's Lac Palluel, a glacial lake in the alps" Fleur smiled wistfully, that was the second last time they'd managed to get to France while her grandpapa was alive.

"C'était un bon été ..." _(That was a good summer...)_

* * *

 **January 2017**

"JJ!" Garcia's appearance in the bullpen startled the blonde out of the file she was reading. Looking up at the tech analyst it didn't take a profiler to see the other woman was incredibly worked up about something.

"What's up Garcia?"

"Did Emily tell you what she was doing today?" the BAU team had all been incredibly relieved to discover they weren't required for the inauguration and barring an emergency they were getting a quiet day at Quantico.

Emily had even taken a personal day.

"I assume she's spending it with Fleur and the baby" JJ had already gone back to her consult knowing that every spare moment she had Emily spent with her 3 month old grandson.

"You assume right…" Garcia shoved her iPad under JJ's nose forcing her to look at the paused News item.

Frozen on the screen Elizabeth, Emily, Fleur and baby Andy were caught wearing knitted pink pussy hats and home decorated shirts.

'Diplomat and Mom'

'Agent and Mom

'Doctor and Mom'

Blinking a few times as she processed what she was seeing JJ finally looked up at Garcia. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she tried to come up with a response.

"I can't believe she didn't invite us…"

* * *

 **David Rossi's birthday 2017**

Emily was late... the team was there, the trainee's were there... the La Montagne's and Walkers were there but no Emily.

' _Fleurgency... I'm on my way'_ Was the text message Dave had received 20 minutes after everyone else had arrived.

It was another 10 before she let herself in, 6 month old Andy on her hip.

"Sorry I'm late..." she dropped his diaper bag next to the couch

Garcia's eyes widened delightedly at the sight of Emily's grandson and before the Unit Chief could blink the analyst was standing next to her plucking the baby out of her arms.

"Ahh, Garcia..." Emily started but didn't get any further before Andy let out a furious shriek causing everyone in the room to wince at the pitch and volume. The blondes eyes widened in surprise as the baby started crying and threw himself back towards Emily who took him with an apologetic grimace "... he's teething and cranky and won't let anyone but me and Fleur take him."

The second he was back with Emily the screeching stopped and he buried his face in her neck with a tearful whine.

"That's why I was late, he pitched a fit and wouldn't settle for the sitter so I had to go rescue her."

Lowering herself down to the couch she settled the baby onto her lap and let him gnaw on the knuckle of her thumb.

"Wow..." JJ nearly laughed at the glare Andy was giving them, she'd seen that look on Emily's face many times "The boy's were fussy but they never did that while teething."

"Fleur did the exact same thing when she was teething... this is her punishment for what she put me and her grandparents through." Emily smiled before dropping a kiss to the top of Andy's head "Alex's parents were up over the weekend, he screamed whenever Lillian even looked at him but is quite happy to sit with me, at one point Alex actually took him off Lillian and gave Andy to me to settle... I shouldn't be so happy about that should I?" the rest of the team was familiar with the way Emily and Fleurs mother in law butt heads.

In the background the trainee's looked on surprised at the sight of the tough as nails Unit Chief with a baby in her lap... Luke and Tara knew about Fleur and Andy but they'd never met either and had never seen this side of Emily.


End file.
